Marriage and Money: Why Nigerians Don’t Really Retire. The High Cost of Intergenerational Dependency

At first, the conversation seems entirely harmless. A father in his late sixties gets ready for another busy day at work when his daughter asks why he still goes to the office. He retired from his corporate job years ago. He smiles and gives the answer many Nigerians know well: “If I stay at home, who will pay the bills?”

In Nigeria, retirement often exists only on paper. Most professionals keep running shops, managing small businesses, consulting, farming, teaching, or doing side jobs long after leaving formal work. People usually stop working only when age, illness, or physical limits make it impossible.

This is not just about personal work ethic. It shows how family life, culture, and today’s economy all come together. In many developed countries, retirement means financial security and a relaxed lifestyle. In Nigeria, retirement often starts a new struggle: finding ways to keep earning as main income falls.

The Collapse of Formal Safety Nets and the Black Tax:, The main reason for this trend is the weak formal social support system. Pensions are often too small to keep up with inflation, healthcare costs rise sharply with age, and government welfare programs are almost non-existent. For most older Nigerians, living only on retirement savings is impossible. So, the family becomes the main financial safety net.

For generations, this informal system worked fairly well. It became an unspoken rule in family life: to continue reading…..