Retirement age in Nigeria: civil service and private sector
What is the official retirement age in Nigeria? A Nigerian in the labor force is required to retire when they reach a certain age or after a specific number of years in service. The retirement age is decided by the federal government. Below is the retirement age set by the federal government for civil servants and workers in the public sector.
The Nigerian labor law is the law that covers and guides the right of workers in Nigeria, their working conditions, the minimum wage, their pensions and many other things related to workers in labor force of the country. One of the essential statutes of the Nigerian Labour law is the Pension Act which establishes official retirement age and pension scheme for civil servants, teachers and other workers in the labor force. Workers retire from service at a certain age or after a specific number of years in service and are entitled to receive gratitude or a monthly pension. The official retirement age in Nigeria varies. This is because each ministry in the civil service has different retirement age based on their peculiarities. Also, the retirement age in the private sector is different.
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Retirement age in the Nigeria public sector
The federal government sets the compulsory retirement age in Nigeria for workers in the public sector. There are different retirement ages for various sector/industry in the Nigeria public sector. Below are the retirement ages for different categories of professions.
Retirement age in Nigeria civil service
The statutory retirement age for workers in the Nigeria civil service is sixty (60) years or thirty-five (35) years of service.
The retirement age for the academic staffs and non-academic staffs of higher education institutions in Nigeria
The retirement age for all academic staffs of universities, colleges of educations and polytechnics below the level of a professor sixty-five (65) years or thirty-five (35) years of service in the public sector. The retirement age for all non-academic staffs of higher education institutions in Nigeria is also sixty-five (65) years or thirty-five (35) years of service in the public sector.
Age of retirement for professors
The age of retirement for professors working in universities, colleges of educations and polytechnics in Nigeria is seventy (70) years old. This was approved by the Nigerian Senate in 2012 when an Act that harmonized the age of retirement for all the staffs of universities, colleges of educations and polytechnics was passed.
Age of retirement for Primary and Secondary school teachers
The retirement age set for teachers in public primary and secondary schools is sixty (60) years. Although there have been agitations from the National Union of Teachers that the retirement age should be raised from 60 years to 65 years as it is in most of the professions in the public sector.
Age of retirement for Judges in Nigeria
The age of retirement set for all judges both in the Supreme Court and in the lower courts in Nigeria is seventy (70) years irrespective of how long you have spent in the public service, i.e., the number of years you have spent in service does affect when you retire.
Age of retirement for judicial staff
According to the Public Service Rules, the age of retirement for all judicial staff and professionals below the level of a judge is sixty-five (65) years or thirty-five (35) years in public service.
Age of retirement for officers of the Nigeria Armed Forces
The retirement age for officers of the Nigeria Armed Forces had been changed from fifty-two (52) years of age to sixty-two (62) years.
Age of retirement for medical consultants in Federal Medical Centres
The age of retirement for medical consultants working in federal medical centers in Nigeria is sixty (60) years old or thirty-five (35) years in public service. This is also the same for all medical officers in federal medical centers.
Age of retirement for medical consultants in University Teaching Hospital
The age of retirement for medical consultants working in university teaching hospitals in Nigeria is seventy (70) years old. This is so because the retirement age for university professors was raised to seventy (70) years old.
Age of retirement for pilots
The age of retirement for pilots in Nigeria is sixty-two (62) years.
Age of retirement for aviation workers
The age of retirement for aviation workers who are not pilots is sixty (60) years old or thirty-five (35) years in public service.
Age of retirement for NNPC workers
The age of retirement for NNPC workers is sixty (60) years old or thirty-five (35) years in service.
Age of retirement for officers of the Nigeria Police Force
The age of retirement for the officers of the Nigeria Police Force has been set at sixty (60) years old.
Age of retirement in the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
The age of retirement for the officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps is also sixty (60) years old or thirty-five (35) years of service.
Age of retirement in the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS)
The age of retirement for the officers of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) is sixty (60) years old or thirty-five (35) years of service.
Age of retirement in the Nigerian Fire Service
According to the Fire Service Act, the age of retirement for officers in the Nigeria Fire Service is forty-five (45) years old or twenty-five (25) years in service.
Retirement age in Nigeria private sector
The retirement age in the private sector is different from the retirement age in the public sector. Different companies or organizations in the private sector have their different individual retirement policies. Some companies or organization can keep an employee till after seventy (70) years of age while others might not. Most times, this is usually dependent on how valuable the employee is. However, government expects that companies and organizations in the private sector to adhere to the retirement age of sixty (60) years or thirty-five (35) years in service. But most companies/ organizations do not and also, when people retire from a company or organization in the private sector, they do not receive pension.
These are the various retirement age for different ministries in Nigeria, the retirement age in the civil service regularly undergoes review from time to time.
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Source: Legit.ng
