Lagos Govt Paid Pensions In Q4, LASPEC Insists

Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) claims that the state had paid retirees in October, November, and December of 2022 as promised contrary to viral reports.

The pension agency said 288 retirees earned N1.062 billion on October 14, 2022, while 754 retirees received N2.54 billion in December 2022.

LASPEC highlighted that Lagos was listed as the scheme’s most compliant state in the National Pension Commission’s quarterly assessment report on the status of the Contributory Pension Scheme’s implementation in states.

A statement from the agency read in parts, “Under the leadership and administration of Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State Government increased the employers’ portion of 7.5 percent to 10 percent monthly pension contributions to employees’ Retirement Savings Account.

“From January 2022 to date, the state government has remitted the sum of N13.7bn for mainstream employees, N3.18bn in the local government, and N3.319bn for State Universal Basic Education Board employees.”

Additionally, LASPEC asserted that the state still had life insurance coverage in the amount of 300 percent of each employee’s annual wage in place for all employees.

Also, the agency reaffirmed the state’s commitment to paying off all outstanding obligations and protecting the welfare of state retirees.

“In 2022, the Civil Service Pension Office paid the sum of N2.39bn to 6,325 retirees while the Teaching Service Pension Office paid the sum of N1.24bn to 3,109 retirees and the Local Government Pension Boards paid the sum of N2.34bn to over 6,000 retirees, hence cumulative pension payments in the state totaled N17.37bn to 18,914 retirees”, the commission’s statement explained.

“In line with the ideals of the Contributory Pension Scheme, the administration is committed to improving the welfare of our senior citizens and has initiated various programs to secure the financial freedom of our retirees.

“To demonstrate good faith and commitment to the welfare of her employees, the state government increased her payments into the Redemption Benefits Bond Redemption Fund from five percent to 10 percent of the total monthly wage bill payable to employees in the public service.”