Lagos Pays Over N1bn To 218 Retirees

The Lagos State Government says it has paid over N1 billion retirement benefit bond into the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) of 218 retirees under the state public service for the month of August.

The Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mr. Babalola Obilana made the disclosure at the 78th Batch Retirement Bond Presentation on Thursday in Lagos.

He said that N1.01 billion was paid and assured that the commission would continue to be resolute in forging ahead with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Obilana noted that the scheme was sustainable and had resolved the challenges of the past pension scheme administration which, being non-contributory relied totally on budgetary allocations from the government.

According to him, the state government through LASPEC is committed to ensuring that retirees are paid their terminal entitlements as and when due without any hiccups.

“We remain committed to our ideals of making Lagos State a role model for others to follow on pension matters.

“In Lagos state, our employees are our greatest assets.

“This is why we are not only passionate about providing good conditions of service but also fully committed to ensuring that their entitlements are paid when they exit the public service,” Obilana said.

The director-general advised the retirees to be mindful of fraudsters who come with the idea of unknown businesses.

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He also implored them to be careful with the disclosure of information about their bond benefit entitlement in order not to fall into the hands of people with ulterior intentions.

Obilana appreciated the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for his unrelentless efforts toward the plight of retirees in the state.

He announced that the commission had changed its mode of distributing bond certificates to pensioners due to the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, where it handed over the distribution to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

Obilana explained that the retirees would now be attended to in batches by the commission as it was usually done, but in compliance with the social distancing rules of the state government.

“The new process adopted by the commission nullifies the initial arrangements where the presentation of bond certificates was handled by the PFAs of concerned retirees or beneficiaries.

“The commission initiated the new process to ensure that the senior citizens are not exposed to the Coronavirus, and to also comply with the state government’s directive on the restriction on large gatherings,” he said.

Obilana said that with the new process, the initial method of releasing bond certificates to PFAs who had been inviting beneficiaries to exit meetings to access their lump sum and monthly pensions had been changed.