Evaluation of the Application of the Contributory Pension Scheme on Employee Retirement Benefits of Quoted Firms in Nigeria

This paper seeks to evaluate whether or not the application of the Contributory Pension Scheme has an impact on employee retirement benefits of quoted firms in Nigeria. In line with this objective, a hypothesis was formulated. The population of the study is the one hundred and eighty-two (182) firms quoted on the first-tier market of the Nigeria Stock Exchange and ten (10) quoted firms selected as sample size based on judgmental sampling. The study utilizes data from secondary source. Data are obtained from the annual accounts and reports of the (10) quoted firms that make up the sample of the study. The time frame for the study is ten years, covering the period 1996-2005. The technique of analysis in the study was the Student's t - test for paired observations. We conclude that even though the application of the contributory pension scheme has positive impact on employee retirement benefits of quoted firms in Nigeria, the study recommends an effective monitoring/supervision and enforcement of the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, 2004. Also, the study recommends an effective implementation of the penalties provided by the Act on non compliers regardless of their status or origin among others