Sanwo-Olu clears N68.5bn pension arrears for Lagos retirees

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has cleared N68.5 billion in pension arrears for public servants who retired from the state’s service.

Bode Agoro, head of service in the state, spoke on Tuesday in Lagos during a sensitisation event on the contributory pension scheme (CPS) for public servants.

The event was organised by the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC).

Agoro praised Sanwo-Olu for prioritising the welfare of retirees by ensuring they receive their benefits promptly upon retirement.

He also commended the governor for his continuous efforts to improve the welfare of public servants in the state.

The head of service said the CPS, which was passed into law on March 19, 2007, in Lagos, was to provide a sustainable retirement plan that ensures financial security upon staff retirement from active service.

“Since its introduction, a lot of government policies have been made to strengthen the Nigerian pension industry, provide security for citizens’ savings, well as protect workers’ retirement benefits,” Agoro said.

“However, all these policies have come with the need to align ourselves, as workers, with the evolvement of the scheme.

“Knowledge, they say is power, and information is key. Therefore, a man without the right information will no doubt be deformed.”

He said the sensitisation programme was organised to combat misinformation about the pension scheme, providing public servants with updated information.

Agoro also highlighted the state’s ongoing efforts to update data, including linking national identification numbers (NIN) to all accounts, such as bank and telecommunications accounts, to streamline pension payments.

LAGOS URGES PUBLIC SERVANTS TO UPDATE THEIR DATA WITH PFAs

Agoro urged public servants to update their data with their pension fund administrators (PFAs) to ensure smooth processing of their retirement payments.

The head of service said for individuals who recently had their service documents updated, changed their locations, or altered their names, the exercise was designed to offer them new opportunities to register those changes with their PFAs, accordingly.

“Considering the different development that public servants might have experienced over the years, this exercise will be made periodic to allow you register such development with your PFAs,” he said.

“This is to enable updated information that will ease processing of your retirement benefits by LASPEC as well as the PFAs.

“As partners in progress, our PFAs will be made available at the Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium at Alausa, Ikeja, for four days as scheduled in our circular, to attend to your proper documentation.”

Agoro praised LASPEC for its commendable efforts in making PFA services easily accessible to civil servants, allowing them to update their data.

He encouraged the workers to carefully consider the important information regarding the pension scheme.

‘CPS ENSURES EMPLOYEES HAVE SECURE SOURCE OF INCOME AFTER RETIREMENT’

Speaking at the event, Babalola Obilana, director-general (DG) of LASPEC, said the sensitisation was crucial to share updates about the CPS.

He reiterated that the CPS ensures employees have a secure source of income upon retirement.

The DG said the scheme operates on a simple principle — both employees and employers contribute a portion of the employee’s salary into a pension fund — which is then managed by a designated authority.

“This collective effort provides financial security for our future and fosters a culture of savings and responsibility among public servants,” Obilana said.

“It is a mutual commitment to one another that we all need to embrace.”

Obilana also noted the improvements in collaboration between LASPEC, PFAs, and annuity service providers (ASPs) to ensure that pension benefits are protected and accessible.

He, however, raised concerns that some public servants in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) have yet to open their retirement savings accounts (RSAs).

“This oversight has serious implications for their future financial security,” he added.

The DG said many individuals have their pension benefits held in an escrow account due to the absence of RSAs.

Obilana said not only does it harm the financial future of those affected, but also complicates their pension payment process at retirement.

He urged the affected workers and other public servants to take advantage of the programme, complete the necessary steps, and update their data with the PFAs accordingly.

The event was attended by public servants from various MDAs and parastatals across the state.