By Agbafo Ijeoma
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s pension and labour sectors have called on workers to begin planning for retirement early and develop multiple sources of income, amid concerns over rising inflation, inadequate pension benefits and challenges in pension administration.
They made the call on Thursday at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit organised by XEM Consultants Ltd. in collaboration with strategic partners, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), in Abuja.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Dasuki Arabi, said retirement planning should be treated as part of broader national workforce policy rather than left solely to government, employers, pension administrators or families.
Arabi, who delivered the keynote address, said workers needed to make informed decisions and take deliberate steps to secure their lives after active service.
He noted that changing employment patterns, including movement between sectors and increasing reliance on entrepreneurship, consultancy and other income sources, had implications for retirement planning. He added that informal employment accounted for about 93 per cent of total employment in the second quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
President of the NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, described pension as deferred wages and expressed concern that inflation and currency depreciation could significantly reduce retirees’ purchasing power. He advocated the indexing of pensions to inflation and urged workers to build productive assets and additional income sources before leaving active employment.
The convener of the summit and Chief Executive Officer of XEM Consultants, Dr Eugenia Ndukwe, said rising inflation, increasing living costs and rapid technological changes informed the 2026 edition, themed “Own Your Retirement: From Planning to Action.”
She said retirement planning should extend beyond pension contributions to include financial literacy, skills acquisition, health, investments, relationships with pension fund administrators and alternative sources of income, stressing that retirement should also involve purposeful use of workers’ time, knowledge and experience after active service.
