By Okon Okon
The Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN), in collaboration with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd., has urged public servants to begin early preparations for life after retirement.
The call was made at a pre-retirement seminar for senior public servants.
The Administrator of PSIN, Mrs Ime Okon, said the programme with the theme ”Preparing for a Successful and Fulfilling Life After Service”, was designed to appreciate public servants for their years of service and equip them with the knowledge and confidence needed to navigate life after retirement.
Okon noted that many of the participants had devoted between 30 and 35 years of their lives to serving the country, adding that retirement should not be seen as the end of a productive life.
”For us, the essence is to encourage the civil servants because, for over 30, 32, 35 years, they have given their best to Nigeria.
”Now that they are leaving, we want everybody to feel confident that they have done their best and now have to face their own future.
”Organising this capacity-building programme for them is our own way of saying thank you for what you have done and encouraging them to continue to do more,” she said.
She stressed the need for public servants to start preparing for retirement several years before leaving the service.
According to her, PSIN does not want public servants to wait until their final months in service before beginning to plan for their future.
”We want a situation where we get them early because we don’t like the fact that a lot of them are leaving and just attending this programme.
”Some are leaving this month-end, some in December and some in January. It may sound late, but we can still work with them to get prepared for the marketplace.”
Okon said PSIN, in partnership with Renaissance Africa Energy, was working toward developing a process whereby public servants would begin retirement planning four or five years before leaving the service.
”Our whole goal is to cultivate a process where, once you have four or five years to retirement, you start getting concerned that you need to prepare for your future after service.
”We don’t want anybody to leave suddenly or unprepared. We want them to feel confident that life after the civil service can also be very productive and that they have a partner to walk them through that process,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr Igo Weli, Vice President, Relations and Sustainable Development, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd., said the seminar was part of the company’s commitment to giving back to the public sector.
Weli said the company appreciated the support it had received from government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, adding that the programme was also aimed at helping participants prepare for their next phase of life.
”We will not be where we are as a company after 18 months without the support of the ministries, agencies and departments of government.
”We are not a company that will not appreciate those who support us. This is just to appreciate them,” he said.
He noted that some people approached retirement with fear, when instead they should approach it with excitement and a clear plan.
”The idea is to equip them to have that plan, have that confidence and go into retirement knowing that the next chapter can be better than the chapter they are experiencing now,” Weli said.
He added that retirement had enabled many people to achieve greater personal, material and professional fulfillment.
”I know a lot of people who became much better after retirement, both materially, in terms of health and work-life balance.
”So it is just to say thank you and also help them prepare for the next chapter. It is not the end; it is the next chapter,” he said.
Weli assured that the partnership with PSIN would be sustained, describing the seminar as more than a one-off initiative.
Mr Edward Ogenyi, Head, Entrepreneurship Skills Development Programme, PSIN, said the seminar was important because retirement represented a transition from one phase of life to another.
Ogenyi said many public servants were knowledgeable about their official responsibilities, but lacked adequate knowledge of retirement planning, entrepreneurship and enterprise development.
”We consider retirement as a transition, and a strategic repositioning from one phase of life to another. That phase of life is very important, so individuals need to plan for it,” he said.
According to him, the lack of adequate preparation often leaves retirees vulnerable to hopelessness, depression and disappointment.
He said the collaboration between PSIN and Renaissance Africa Energy was aimed at bridging the knowledge gap by equipping public servants with entrepreneurial skills and helping them establish alternative sources of income before retirement.
”Retirement can only become a transition when public servants are adequately prepared and supported, for example, to establish an alternative source of income,” Ogenyi said.
A participant, Mr Uwodi Paul, Deputy Director, Ministry of Finance, described the training as timely and useful.
Paul said the programme would help participants prepare adequately for retirement rather than leave the service without a clear plan.
”This is very important because it sets a pace for you so that at retirement you will not be gambling or running up and down looking for what to do.
”What they are doing here is preparing us for this pre-retirement phase of our lives. It is a wonderful training and I encourage that it is done often,” he said.(NAN)
Edited by Deborah Coker
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