Lagos State Govt. pays N32.2bn to 6,145 retirees

The Lagos State Government at the weekend said it remitted N32.2 billion into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) of its staff members, who retired from the state public service between 2010 and 2015.The state government added that 6,145 workers had benefited from the retirement benefits, noting that it had issued retirement bond certificates worth of N8 billion within the same period under review.The State Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase who disclosed this at a ministerial press conference said the move was to ensure that retirees get their entitlement as and when due.She explained that the monthly deduction of 7.5 per cent from employee salary
and 7.5 counterpart funding is now over N16 billion, while the employee joint contributions have cumulatively risen to over N57 billion since the inception of the scheme in 2007.Oguntuase added that the current administration, through Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), in collaboration with the state’s approved six Pension Fund Administration (PFAs) and five Insurance companies, organized series of seminar for workers on pre-retirement plan in order to prepare them adequately for life after retirement.

She said in a bid to provide an enabling environment for all its civil servants and position them for quality service delivery, the state government had organised capacity building programmes for its workers as a way of motivating them in the course of their duties.Also speaking, the Director General of the Lagos State Pension Commission, (LASPEC), Mr. Adekunle Hussain said that the present administration is set to review the State Pension Law and increase the monthly pension payment by the State Government and Staff in the ratio 10% and 8% respectively, as against the current 7.5 per cent.He stated that in appreciation of the effective management of the pension scheme, Lagos State has received various awards.In her remarks, the Director General of Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Mrs. Olubanmi Fabanwo, said the centre has continued to provide learning and development interventions in various aspect of Government business.She said the government had completed the Certificate and Documentation Verification Exercises for the Staff of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), Central Business District (CBD), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Lagos State Agriculture Development Authority (LSADA).