On the 9th of september, 2015 i gave a paper Presentation in Abuja to more than 60 public servants drawn from different Government establishment within Nigeria. The topic was centered on –Stress Management while Planning for Retirement and, if African workers feel that planning for retirement is neccessary in the first place.
Facing a huge crowd of matured men and women who came from different ethnic group in Nigeria and trying to make them understand why they should plan for retirement was a big challenge. In our society, it is telling them that they are about to die huh? Honestly some of them even said it. Why do Africans hate talking about writing wills and planning for retirement? Why do they always feel someone is reminding them about death? On the other hand…why do we shy away from metioning death as if it is something we can avoid when it comes. Knowing that someday, you will die, is it not proper you prepare your self very well and make provisions for your family so they do not suffer when you are gone? Ok…or you would prefer your family turn into beggers when you are gone? Which one is better?
It was as usual in all my presentations very brain storming and highly interactive as well as challenging. Challenging in the sense that i even most delegates regret of not having the opportunity to attend such a seminar years back so they can plan well. Also challenging because it brought out the fraustration of some who were asked to deposit money or whose part of salaries were taken from their employers as part of retirement bonus but they never got that. So i touched a very raw and sore parts of most of my delegates and, i also discovered by the end of the 3hrs seminar that, if our workers can start early to understand the benefits and procedures of planning for retirement, no civil/public servant/executive will go to the extent of reducing his/her age while at work so that he/she will not be retired before the time of choice.
In every part of the world, planning for retirement is not something you do at the late age of one’s life. It is a long term investment which one must start early to plan but that does not mean that those who feel they are late cannot not start now.
Depending on your income and economic situation of where you are located, you can still put aside a good some of money and meet up pretty well to enjoy a good life after service to your country. The western countries understand the true benefits of planning for retirement and also has very good policies and arrangements on grounds that work very well. You will hardly hear them complain like us here that their saved money was stolen or imbezzeled by their employers or some kind of insurance company. So when a whiteman or woman plans for retirement, all the money kept aside will be given to him/her when the retirement time happens. This is not the case with us here so i think this add up to the fear why Africans do not think of planning.
Now how can you expect a man/woman who has economic problems to solve to abandon solving these immediate problems and give huge sum of money to an insurance company that could fold up and go bankrupt one day? This does not mean we do not have reliable insurance companies but the sad part is that when this happens, such depositors hardly get their money back. So the bad and epileptic economic and financial situation in Nigeria scares lots of workers who would want to keep money aside for retirement. We all know the ugly stories of our senior citizens and their pension saga.
In all and all…no matter how we look at it…planning for retirement is still vital if one who has worked and laboured hard for years want to live a comfy life without stress in this part of the world.
Talking about stress, the level of stress in this country is so high that most people do not even know they are under stress. The road to retirement plans is not an easy one with our present age except those who are looting and stealing our funds and money. So i will not use those people to measure the millions of average Nigerians who are highly experiencing tough economic situations as we speak. In the process of making ends meet, Nigerians undergo very serious stress lifestyle and when someone who is under high level of stress, issues like, keeping money aside…money they are not very certain they will get in future…as they suffer in the present is sensitive. So it is vital Nigerians understand how to avoid stress in their lifestyle especially work places and marriages so that planning for retirement will be stress free. Avoiding stress as you plan is one thing and also enjoying the retirement without stress is another thing. Some people could work hard to save but when the time comes to enjoy, stress related sicknessess are still following them. This is not a good news at all. As you plan for retirement, you must ensure you stay off stress lane so that when you finally retire, sickness caused by too much stress when you were working will not consume all the money you saved. You now see why it is vital to avoid stress while planning for retirement. Sadly most Nigerians do not understand how deadly stress is and negelct tackling it till it manifest with its late sicknessess which kills silently.
Though as a worker you are thinking about your family comfort in future but you should not neglect to consider your self as well to enjoy with them.
I want our workers to understand that retirement does not mean that you can not be productive again in life till you die. There are people who still have vigour and brains to do some self employed jobs and independent consultation jobs but once they retire, they go to their village and stay idle. This kill even faster!! If you were retired in your sixties, who says you cannot do some private jobs again? Ofcourse this time you do not have to exert or labor too hard. It is vital you become active in some kind of skills or talent you enjoy so much and work according to your time and comfort. The fact remains that it could be stressful to make huge legal money that can solve your immediate financial problems and still have good sum of money to plan for retirement but you must have to find a way to save. If you feel you do not have enough, you simply cannot save.
JACLYN IWU
