Social Security and Family Social Needs: A Study of the Effectiveness of the National Provident Fund in Nigeria.
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Date
1988-12
Authors
Adebagbo, A. S.
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Publisher
University of Lagos
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of National Provident Fund in attempting to satisfy family social needs and examines the potential area which magnifies unmet needs. The first research task was to trace the evolution of Provident Funds over the past years and then conduct a sample survey to select retired persons from private and public sectors of the economy from Lagos and one other community, Benin City, with a smaller population and with a lower cost of living. Comparative studies of the situation of retired persons from these two sectors as well as retired persons who were not enjoying any social security scheme at all were made with a view to determining the effectiveness of the National Provident Fund (NPF) scheme. The results of the study revealed that more retired old people who were on pension scheme survived better to higher ages than those who were either on NPF or those who were in any form of the social security scheme. The ages of those who were on NPF scheme were slightly higher than those who were not in any form of the social security scheme. The data also showed a tendency for sample cases in Benin to attain higher age levels than their counterparts in Lagos. Because of their poor financial situation, a large number of the respondents on NPF took up employment after retirement. A greater percentage of them resorted to borrowing to survive compared with their counterparts who were on no pension scheme and those who were on no scheme respectively. There was also the tendency for a higher percentage of the respondents on NPF to have more multiple health problems and to spend more on health care than their counterparts on pension scheme in particular. Since the respondents on NPF were normally entitled to social security benefits, one would expect that their financial conditions would be better than that of their counterparts who were on no scheme. This appeared not to be the case for a number of reasons: limited provision made by the NPF Act for the aged, late payment of benefits, benefits too small to be of any use to the beneficiaries etc. Suggestions are then made for the improvement of the scheme in order to meet the financial and emotional needs of the families satisfactorily. It is concluded that in spite of its apparent limitations, the Fund can be developed and adapted to play a significant role in the social security field in the country until such a time as the government can embark on more ambitious social insurance measures that will assure that Nigerians enjoy freedom from want.
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Keywords
Social security , Family social needs
Citation
Adebagbo, A. S. (1988), Social Security and Family Social Needs: A Study of the Effectiveness of the National Provident Fund in Nigeria. University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies Phd Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts. 324pp.