143 Lagos Retirees Get N723m Accrued Pension Rights

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The sum of N723 million has been disbursed by the Lagos State government into the Retirement Savings Accounts of 149 retirees of the state’s public service.

This is part of the government’s commitment to continue the payment of accrued pension rights to its retirees.

Commissioner for Establishments, Training & Pensions, Dr Benson Akintola, while speaking at the 47th Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentation Ceremony in Lagos, said the well-being of the retirees has been the driving force of the State Government’s commitment to regular funding of pension obligations.

Dr Akintola informed that the state government has expended N33.943 billion in form of accrued pension rights to 8,409 retirees in the last 30 months, noting that this is separate from the regular monthly contributions into the RSAs of active workers.

“We have been able to clear the backlog of outstanding pension obligations we met at the inception of this administration and we are forging ahead to ensure that fresh liability arrears from recent retirements are systematically cleared.

“We assure all retirees that your labour in Lagos shall not go unrewarded and you will not retire into penury,” he assured.

On her part, Director-General of LASPEC, Mrs Folashade Onanuga said that the Contributory Pension Scheme ensures that employers fulfil their obligations to workers and does not entail stressful verification as it is in the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

She, however, advised the retirees not to succumb to any pressure in the choice of annuity or programmed withdrawal benefit options for receipt of their monthly pension, urging them to carefully go through the document the Lagos State government had provided on the features of the two programmes and on their own make an informed decision.

While warning them to be wary of scammers who are out there to lure them into making false investments with their hard earned entitlements, Mrs Onanuga hinted that government was looking at some welfare programmes that would be beneficial to retirees.