Income Inequality and Post-Retirement Realities in Nigeria: The Case of Retired Civil Servants in Kwara State

Christiana O. ADETUNDE, C. Nana DERBY David IMHONOPI, Ajibade E. JEGEDE, Olawale Y. OLONADE and Mercy I. OZOYA

Abstract:

This study examined the implications of income inequalities in the daily lives of retired civil servants in Kwara State.  Constitutionally, the federal government of Nigeria has the sole responsibility of determining the minimum wage for civil servants in the country.  However, the State governments often refuse to pay the stipulated minimum wage on the ground of insufficient funds.  Consequently, there are varied minimum wages across States in the country. Qualitative method of social research was employed.  Purposive and snowball sampling methods were utilized.  In-depth interview and focus group discussion (FGD) methods were exploited to access data from participants. Twenty-one retired civil servants were interviewed.  Also, four officials of the State Pension Board were interviewed for the purpose of internal validity. The digitally recorded interviews lasted between 51 and 65 minutes.  Interviews continued till the point of saturation was achieved.  Six gender based FGD sessions were held to complement the in-depth interview. Each group had 6 participants.  The FGDs lasted 1hour 54 minutes on the average. Data were transcribed verbatim to retain participants’ voices. Constant comparative analysis method of grounded theory was employed for data analysis. As per this analytical tool, open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were exploited.  Findings from the State showed that the organizations people worked were vital to their post-retirement financial experiences; academic qualification and career cadre were less positively related to post-retirement financial stability; State and LGA retirees had totally different experiences within the same State in terms of the payment of their monthly pension; most retirees relied on their offspring in the years after retirement. Retirees called for relatively uniform income which is commensurate with academic qualification and positions held across government owned organizations in Nigeria. Also, there is need for recurrent pre-retirement planning seminars for civil servants from service inception till retirement.