BY NKECHI NAECHE—-The Lagos State Government has assured pensioners in the state of its readiness to pay their entitlements immediately after retirement.
The Director General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, who stated this at the 14th Retirement Benefit Documentation Seminar for Employees in the Lagos State Public Service due to Retire between July and December, 2018, in Alausa, Ikeja, at the weekend,that the state governor is committed to pensioners and has paid over N37billion out of the over N40billion accumulated accured rights.
She also said that the state pay pensioners with disability or terminal illness their pensions immediately after they retire.
She noted that the state government gives preference to this category of retirees, so that they can take proper care of themselves in retirement.
” Lagos State is very passionate to its workers during and after service and to this end, the state through LASPEC, will give preference to disabled retirees and those with terminal illness, so that they can get their pension entitlements on time to address their health challenges”.
She advised the would-be retirees, at the seminar, to indicate if they are disabled or have terminal illness on their documents when sending them to the commission, promising that appropriate attention would be given to those in this category.
She added that the state has made monthly pension contribution a priority to ensure that retirees are comfortable in retirement.
Lagos, remains the only State that does not owe monthly pension contributions as the State contribution and that of the employees are regularly remitted to the Custodian accounts of the employees’ Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
While charging the participants to ensure that the documentation required to process their terminal entitlements are received early at LASPEC, she equally urged them to follow it up with their respective agencies to ensure that they forward their documents to the commission not later than three months before they retire.
She noted that the objective of the seminar is to educate them on steps to take to facilitate the quick processing of their terminal entitlement as they need financial empowerment to enable to rest well in retirement.
Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, congratulated the 1200 participants expected to retire soon, urging them to take full advantage of the seminar, to educate themselves better on what they need to do at retirement.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishments, Training & Pensions, Mrs. Rhoda Ayinde, while urging the participants to forward their documents on time to avoid delay in getting their pensions as and when due, called on them to prepare a will, which will be helpful after the demise of any retiree. She told the participants that preparing a will doesn’t means imminent death like some believe, but to ensure that the family the deceased left behind does not engage in unnecessary battle because there is no will to determine who owns what.
The participants were trained on; Retirements Benefits Documentation Under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), Features of Programmed Withdrawal and Annuity Option, Importance of Will Writing, Healthy Living in Retirement, Managing Your Finances in Retirement, among others.
