THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES ISSN 2321 - 9203 www.theijhss.com 355 Vol 6 Issue 8 August , 2018 THE I NTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES Maintaining Adequate Financial Capacity at Retirement 1 . Introduction Retirement is an inevitable stage in one’s life where the individual disengages from all mainstream active work as a result of age. Some retire and are still strong enough to engage themselves in one line of business or the other, while others retire and are completely inactive and weak. These pose serious challenges worldwide, thus the need to plan for retirement. Whatever name you call the planning, the fact is that the financial capacity of the retiree is lower than what it was before and sometimes no more especially when gratuities and pensions are not paid as at when due. In most cases, the retirees can no longer control or be fully in charge of themselves and their income including their savings and so the person taking care of that or the signatory to the bank account sometimes becomes funny thus diverting the funds. In other cases, rents are not duly paid to them (retirees) for those who have rented apartments and investments in financial assets. As a result, retirees who do not have relatives or siblings to take care of them are unable to feed properly, medical care is ignored, accommodation lacks, clothing and self-maintenance becomes serious problems. Some of them die off due to lack of care and good/ proper maintenance and another person enjoys the money left behind by the retiree. It is on these bases that this article has been designed to examine the various waysin which retirees canmaintainadequate financial capacity at retirement.Specifically, the paper sought to review the nature and concept of retirement,examine the various sources of retirement income,assess the role of pensions in maintaining adequate financial capacity,identify the factors influencing the maintenance of adequate financial capacity at retirement, andexamine the measures that could be adopted to maintain adequate financial capacity at retirement. This work is classified into five sections. Section one is the introduction which is about to be concluded. In section two, theoretical review is made, section three presents the research methodology while section four is made up of the theoretical review. In section five, the work is summarized, conclusion drawn and recommendations made. 2 . Theoretical Review This section reviews literature relevant to this study. Specifically, it covers the nature and concept of retirement, various sources of retirement income, the role of pensions in maintaining adequate financial capacity, factors influencing the maintenance of financial capacity at retirement and the measures that could be adopted to maintain adequate financial capacity at retirement. Dr . Anthonia Uduak Ubom Senior Lecturer, Department of Insurance, Banking and Finance/ Insurance University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria Mfon Sampson Ukpong Lecturer, Department of Insurance, University of Uyo, Uyo Nigeria Bassey Ime Frank Graduate Assistant, Department of Insurance, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria Abstract : Often, many persons after retirement from active service find it difficult to maintain their financial capacity and life styles or stay close to what was obtainable immediately before retirement. On these bases, this paper aimed at examining ways in which retirees can still maintain at least at close range, their financial capacities. This paper examines the nature and concept of retirement, sources of retirement income, the role of PENSIONS in this perspective, factors influencing the maintenance and measures for maintaining the financial capacity. This paper is purely an essay type- descriptive in nature and the following issues are pertinent: retirement refers to a time when you are out of active service as a result of age, the major sources of retirement income are social pension, asset income, retirement savings and investment, work or other income-generating activities, pensions and home equity among others. Pensions play a vital role in maintaining adequate financial capacity. Knowledge, skills, attitudes, financial responsibilities affect this maintenance while effective management of money, planning ahead, maintaining adequate level of savings, making appropriate choices, investment in assets, leaving special skills for entrepreneurship among others are various ways that can assist in maintaining adequate financial capacity at retirement. Keywords: Retirement, pension, retirement income, savings, and financial capacity, maintaining