The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) administered by PENCOM in Nigeria has proven to be a significant failure, leaving many retirees in financial distress after decades of dedicated service. Unlike the previous Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), where retirees received a guaranteed percentage of their final salary (minus transport allowance), the CPS subjects pensioners to market risks, bureaucratic delays, and meager payouts due to poor returns on contributions. Workers who spent their entire careers in public service now face inadequate pensions, hidden charges by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and the constant fear of fund mismanagement. The system’s flaws are glaring—delayed payments, lack of transparency, and exclusion of non-contributors, particularly those in the informal sector, leaving millions of elderly Nigerians without any safety net.

Nigeria must urgently revert to the old pension system or implement a hybrid model that guarantees retirees a dignified livelihood. The government should also introduce a universal pension scheme for all citizens aged 60 and above, regardless of their employment history, as seen in other progressive nations. The current CPS is exploitative, unreliable, and unsustainable, forcing retirees into poverty instead of rewarding their lifetime of service. Immediate action is needed—through legislative reform, mass advocacy, and public pressure—to dismantle this unjust system and replace it with one that truly secures the future of Nigeria’s senior citizens. The time for change is now; Nigerian workers deserve a pension system that honors their labor, not one that abandons them to in old age.