Post-Retirement Stress Under Non-Contributory Pension Regime: A Study of Retired Civil Servants in Ebonyi State Nigeria

Post retirement life is not devoid of stress. Retirees face a lot of challenges especially in the management of the non-contributory pension regime established by Act 102 of 1979 in Nigeria. The 2004 Pension Reform Act was introduced as alternative to these challenges. This study underscored the intricacies inherent in retirement stress and their coping strategies among retired civil servants in Ebonyi State Nigeria. The study population was retired civil servants. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to administer questionnaire to 365 respondents, out of which all were returned. The questionnaire focused on respondents’ demographic data and retirees coping strategies. In-depth interviews were conducted on 5 respondents; the President Nigerian Union of Pensioners, other two pensioners and the President and Secretary Nigerian Labour Congress. Result indicates that the most widely adopted coping strategies were; investment of gratuities (45.5%) and relocation to family houses (32.3%). The study recommends the adoption of the contributory pension regime which has a lot of advantages to retirees since it can afford them funds that will enable them provide their welfare needs