LASG to fast-track pension payment to terminally ill retirees

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The Lagos State Government says it will henceforth fast-track the payment of gratuity and pension to retirees living with terminal diseases.

Mrs Folashade Onanuga, the Director-General of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), said this on Friday in an interview with news reporters in Lagos, South-West Nigeria.

She spoke on the sidelines of the 15th Retirement Benefits Documentation Seminar organized for workers in the state public service.

“The targeted employees are those who will retire between January and June, 2019,’’ she said.

Onanuga, however, urged the affected group of workers to submit their medical reports alongside other documents while processing their gratuities and pensions.

She stressed that the state government had resolved that such retirees must collect all their gratuities “with their own hands rather than through their next of kin.

“Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has resolved to give such retirees preferential treatment so that they can take care of their health,’’ she said.

Speaking on pension payments, Onanuga said that the state government had funded its employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), with N166 billion in the last 11 years.

“The total contributions remitted to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) from April 2015 to October 2018 was N91 billion.

“In the last 38 months, from August 2015 to October, 2018, the state has paid Accrued Pension Rights (APRs) totalling N40.93 million to 9,982 retirees.

“The APRs of N74.58 billion has been paid to 17,391 retirees since the commencement of the payment of retirees’ entitlements in 2010,’’  she said.

The Director-General underscored the state government’s commitment to protecting the interests of its retired workers, adding that this was the rationale behind its payment of huge pension entitlements since the inception of Contributory Pension Scheme in the state.

Besides, Onanuga said that the state government was planning to launch a health insurance scheme for its workers, adding that plans were underway to extend the scheme to also cover retired civil servants.

“This is because health means wealth; we want to ensure that our retirees live healthier and enjoy their retirement.

“The Lagos State Government has the interest of both its workers and ex-workers in mind,”  she added.


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