Pension Reform Act 2014 and Challenges of Pension Administration in Nigeria (2014-2022)

Abstract

This study examined Pension Reform Act 2014 and the challenges of pension administration in Nigeria (2014-2022). The pension issues have received much attention in many countries over the past few decades. Indeed, pension funds are now among the most important institutional investments in capital markets. It is therefore not surprising that pension has increasingly attracted the attention of policy makers in many countries in recent times. The federal government-initiated pension reforms through the Pension Reforms Act 2004 which was a dramatic departure from the previous pension scheme in the country since independence in 1960. However, after 9 years of its existence or operation in the country, the pension reform was repealed and replaced with the new Pension Reforms Act on 1 July 2014 arising by its condemnations and cynicisms by the workers and retirees. After 9 years of the operation of the Act, this paper, therefore, aimed at criticizing the PRA 2014 vis-à-vis its provisions and implementation. To facilitate the study, primary and secondary sources of data collection were adopted. The theoretical framework for this study is the general system theory as propounded by Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy. The findings of the study showed that there are gaps and loopholes in the Pension Reforms Act, 2014 and its implementation which negatively altered the noble objectives of the reforms, thereby failed the yearning expectations of workers and retirees. The study concluded that Pension Reform Act 2014, if well implemented, would unarguably serve as a leveraging platform to transforming the welfare of the Nigerian worker and other stakeholders/beneficiaries. The study, therefore, recommended the need for further review and amendment of the provisions in the Pension Reforms Act, 2014 by the nation’s National Assembly. There is also a need for sincere political will by the three tiers of government in Nigeria, and holistic synergy among the stakeholders to nurture the scheme to an enviable world Standard.