IN Tanzania every person is entitled to work and to just remuneration, aligned with a person’s qualifications and experience. Article 25(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (as amended until 2005) mentions three important things in a person’s life: “Work alone creates material wealth in society, and is the source of the wellbeing of the people and the measure of human dignity.”

A person may be employed in the public or private sector, and may retire (voluntary retirement) when he or she reaches the age of 55 years or be subject to compulsory retirement when he or she reaches the age of 60 years after which he or she may be re-employed on fixed-contractual terms, and in some cases he or she may work as a casual worker, depending on his or her physical and mental fitness.

Work is crucial because 1) it creates material wealth, 2) is the source of people’s wellbeing, and 3) is the measure of human dignity. An employee is sure of reaping the benefits of his or her work, but an unemployed person is uncertain about his or her tomorrow because his or her basic needs may not be easily met. 

While employees may feel fulfilled, unemployed persons may feel uncertain about their future. This means that an employee needs to plan well in advance his or her voluntary or compulsory retirement because good planning will enable him or her to cope with his or her future situation with sanity. This simply means that a person is well-prepared for foreseen or unforeseen circumstances that make a person lose the job he or she enjoys which can be very frustrating.

There are health and financial risks associated with retirement which an employee needs to consider in his or her planning. For instance, as a person ages so his or her health condition may become a challenge especially when a person suffers from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and treatment and care can be demanding.

Mainland Tanzania Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for a Healthy Population (Technical Recommendations) (TFBDGs) define a non-communicable disease as “a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious agents (non-infectious or non-transmissible. NCDs can refer to chronic diseases that last for long periods of time and progress slowly. They result from a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, behavioural and dietary factors.”

FBDGs were published by the Ministry of Health in 2023. These are evidence-based guidelines on healthy eating habits and lifestyles meant to provide a basis for public food and nutrition, health and agricultural policies, and nutrition education programmes.

NCDs include hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer. Akik C and colleagues in their research titled “Research Priorities for Non-Communicable Diseases in Humanitarian Crises: Focus on Cardio-Metabolic Syndrome” published in 2024 say NCDs account for 41 million (74 per cent) of global annual deaths, with the vast majority of these deaths (77 per cent) occurring in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Tanzania is in the category of lower-middle income economies and is included in these findings.

Retirees can be susceptible to NCDs and since NCDs are also referred to as chronic diseases, their treatment is also chronic and costly. 

Although United Nations Principles for Older Persons adopted by General Assembly Resolution 46/91 of December 16, 1991 provide that: “Older persons should have access to healthcare to help them maintain or regain the optimum level of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and prevent or delay the onset of illness” in practice not all member states heed this obligation. Tanzania is a member state to the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights.

However, it is not a signatory to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa. Article 15 of the Protocol, which provides for access to health services, stipulates that “states parties shall: 1. guarantee the rights of older persons to access health services that meet their specific needs; 2. take reasonable measures to facilitate access to health services and medical insurance cover for older persons within available resources; and ensure the inclusion of geriatrics and gerontology in the training of healthcare personnel.” As of June 3, 2024 only 13 states had ratified the Protocol to the Rights of Older Persons in Africa. Tanzania is among the countries, which have not yet ratified the protocol. 

The good news is that the government of Tanzania has introduced the Universal Health Insurance Act, 2023 (Mainland Tanzania) which provides for mandatory health insurance for all citizens without distinction. Foreigners aged 18 years and above, who reside in the country more than 30 days, and have no health insurance recognised in the country, shall also have health insurance in accordance with this Act. 

 A report titled “The Future of Retirement: The power of planning published by HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited, London, in 2011 says “41 per cent [of interviewed employees] felt that they were under-prepared for retirement to some extent, while 64 per cent admitted to being concerned that they won’t be able to cope financially in retirement.” It says that as retirement approaches, employees’ perceptions of what they can expect to experience grow increasingly negative.

Therefore, it is important to work bearing in mind that there will be retirement sooner or later and there are consequences for it. So, planning for retirement by way of making adequate savings and investments is extremely important. In this way, a person will be in a better position to face the future with sanity.