Global pension coverage: Nigeria absent from ILO list of countries making progress

Nigeria has failed to make progress in its pension coverage, as the country was conspicuously absent from the International Labour Organization (ILO) list of developing countries that have made progress in global pension coverage.

This was revealed as the ILO hinted of improvement and progress in pension coverage globally, but indicated that benefits are still very low.

According to a current ILO report, while African countries such as Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Cape Verde, Lesotho and Tanzania made the list, Nigeria, the giant of Africa did not because of its very poor pension system.

Other developing countries which have achieving universal coverage include Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia, China, Georgia,  Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia,  Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

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Other developing countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Uruguay are close to achieve the goal of universal coverage.

According to the report, while 68 per cent of older persons around the globe receive a pension, the benefits levels remain inadequate.

The report, Social protection for older persons: Key policy trends and statistics 2017-19; shows that significant progress has been made in extending coverage of pension systems in developing countries.

Most of these countries, the report says, achieve universal coverage through a combination of social insurance (providing higher benefits) and basic social assistance.

However, the right to social protection of older persons is not yet a reality for most people in low-income countries. In many, less than 20 per cent of those who have reached the legal retirement age receive a pension. In these countries, an important proportion of the elderly still depend heavily on family support.