Lagos Pays N515m to 252 Retirees

• Lagos Pays N515m to 252 Retirees

The Lagos State Government says it has released N515m for the payment of pensions to 252 retirees.

According to a statement from the Lagos State Pension Commission, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, also urged the retirees not to put their retirement money into ventures they could not manage.

The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said this at the 41st retirement bond certificate presentation in Lagos.

He said the continuous payment of retirees’ entitlements was to ensure that pensioners would not live in penury.

The governor said that in 24 months, from August 2015 to July 2017, the state through LASPEC paid accrued pension rights of N29.65bn into the Retirement Savings Account of 6,982 retirees.

He noted that this was aside from the mandatory 15 per cent contribution, which the government had been remitting monthly into the RSAs of all the state employees.

The Director-General, LASPEC, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said the money being paid by the state government to the retirees should not be used to for projects that could not be completed such as building a house.

She advised the retirees not to allow anyone to force them into opting for any of the two available pension plans, programmed withdrawal and annuity, but adopt the option that would suit them.

“The agency in the month of July also released insured death benefit cheques amounting to over N30m to 24 beneficiaries/ next of kin of deceased employees,” the statement said.