Having examined retirement policies in the United States in previous articles, this article now considers how Nigerian senior citizens age in the diaspora, particularly in the United States.
Broadly speaking, Nigerian retirees in the diaspora tend to fall into three main categories, although many people move between these categories as their circumstances change.
Those Who Remain in the U.S.
The first category comprises retirees who remain in the United States because they have limited family connections or assets in Nigeria, concerns about security, difficulty readjusting to life in Nigeria, ongoing medical needs, or concerns about access to healthcare at home.
Many retirees in this group continue to live in their own homes, particularly if they can afford assistance or have children living nearby. Others may eventually move into assisted living facilities or nursing homes as their healthcare and daily-care needs increase.
Remaining in the United States can provide access to established healthcare arrangements and social services, but it can also present challenges, particularly when family members live far away or when the cost of housing, healthcare and long-term care becomes difficult to manage.
Those Who Return to Nigeria
The second category consists of retirees who return to Nigeria permanently after their children have grown up and established independent lives in the United States.
These retirees may return home to settle into retirement, while occasionally travelling back to the U.S. for family visits, important occasions or healthcare when necessary.
Many have strong roots in Nigeria and may have built comfortable homes that provide the kind of environment they had hoped for in retirement.
There can also be differences in how husbands and wives approach retirement. In some families, men may return to Nigeria earlier and settle permanently, while their wives spend extended periods in the United States moving between their children’s homes and helping to care for grandchildren.
While this arrangement can strengthen relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, prolonged separation can also create loneliness and emotional strain for couples who spend significant periods apart.
Those Who Move Between Both Countries
The third category consists of retirees who divide their time between Nigeria and the United States.
Some may spend several months in Nigeria before returning to the U.S. for family visits, healthcare appointments, prescription-related needs or other personal matters. Others may plan their travel around the seasons, spending more time in Nigeria during the colder months in the United States, particularly if winter weather has become difficult for them as they grow older.
For retirees who still maintain a home in the United States, this arrangement can offer considerable flexibility. Those who no longer have a home there may stay with children or other relatives during their visits.
Travel may also be prompted by weddings, milestone birthdays, the birth of grandchildren and other important family occasions. For some retirees, such visits provide an opportunity to combine family commitments with medical appointments and other essential personal matters.
These three categories are, of course, broad. Many retirees live in hybrid arrangements and may move from one category to another as their health, finances, family circumstances and personal preferences change.
The Central Challenge: Financial Planning
Across all three categories, one major issue stands out: financial planning.
For decades, before the rise of social media and the easy access to information that exists today, many Nigerians in the diaspora worked with the assumption that they would eventually return home to retire. As a result, some did not plan adequately for ageing, long-term care or even the financial and practical implications of dying in the United States.
As I noted in my first article, during the oil-boom years, many Nigerians who migrated eventually returned home, bringing their skills and resources with them and contributing to national development.
That pattern changed as economic difficulties and concerns about governance, under both civilian and military administrations, reshaped expectations about returning home permanently.
The familiar expectation was that Nigerians abroad would eventually bring the fruits of their labour back to Nigeria and enjoy their retirement at home. While that aspiration remains strong among many people, the practical realities of ageing in today’s Nigeria and the United States have made the decision considerably more complicated.
In recent years, social media and the growing availability of digital information, including artificial intelligence tools, have also made it easier for people to learn about retirement planning, healthcare, financial management and the realities of ageing in different countries.
This greater access to information could help the next generation of retirees make more deliberate decisions about where and how they want to age.
Ultimately, the question is not simply whether a Nigerian retiree should remain in the United States, return to Nigeria or divide time between both countries. It is whether the individual has planned adequately for the realities that come with growing older.
Where will healthcare be obtained? Who will provide care if independence is lost? How will long-term care be financed? Where will the person feel most connected and secure? And what happens when a spouse or other family member is no longer available to provide support?
These are questions that should ideally be answered before retirement, rather than during a health or financial crisis.
In the next article, I hope to explore how ageing in the diaspora differs from ageing in Nigeria, particularly in relation to family support, healthcare access, loneliness and long-term care.
Ageing in the Diaspora by Alex Aiayi-Bembe is a regular weekly column under our Healthy Ageing Project, a collaborative platform on healthy ageing and longevity, with Healhtimes Communications Nigeria Limited serving as the interim administrative host
