Lagos workers during a pre-retirement seminar
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has said that the State is helping retirees and pensioners to manage their transition from active service to retirement.
Ambode, represented by Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson spoke at the opening session of the workshop tagged: ‘How to Prepare Officers of the Lagos State Civil Service for Retirement’ organized by the Civil Service Pensions Office (CSPO) of the ministry.
He said that the CSPO is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that pensioners of the State on the ‘pay as you go’ scheme are paid their entitlements as at when due, adding that the CSPO has been responsible for the welfare of pensioners and retirees in Lagos State.
He disclosed that over the years, the CSPO has put in place various measures to ease the burden of retirees and ensure their comfort.
He stated that while many employers of labour and indeed, many State Governments do not see the need to prepare their employees for a new life, his administration has resolved that everyone who has worked diligently for the state has to be recognised, paid his or her dues and assisted to prepare for future challenges.
He noted that the State is training its staff to help recently retired pensioners to manage change.
He said: “This training is designed to prepare officers of the CSPO to counsel and advice retirees and pensioners on how to manage the transition from active service to retirement. In this address, I wish to point out the general modalities for fulfilling this task. As prospective retirees facing a new future, officers of the CSPO assert and allay their fears about the future. They should encourage them to eschew fear and anxiety and instead to embrace faith and hope as they go into a new stage in their lives.
“While change may bring daunting challenges, you really have nothing to be anxious about. In the first place, you have the advantage of having served an organisation that has made adequate arrangements for your future in retirement. As at the middle of 2017, the Lagos State Government had paid accrued pension rights of approximately N28 billion into the Retirement Savings Account of 6,509 retirees in the preceding 22 months alone. Furthermore, the Lagos State Government has continued to remit money into officers’ Retirement Savings Accounts. In fact, the government has paid the approximate sum of N62 billion into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) of about 13,000 retirees since the commencement of the payment of entitlements in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) dispensation. Indeed, everyone should be proud to note that Lagos State remains perhaps the only state in the federation that is up to date in its monthly remittances into serving employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts.
“Retirement Benefit Documentation Seminars are held bi-annually. The seminar is put together for the core civil servants and other employees in the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Teachers’ Establishment & Pensions Office (TEPO), Government Parastatals and Local Government Staff, who will soon be retiring or have recently retired from the State’s Public Service. It is a programme designed to educate retirees like you on the documentation required to enable them have quick access to your terminal entitlements. Secondly, it is to expose you to the fears and challenges faced by retirees and measures to take to ensure your peace of mind as you transit into another phase of your life.
“While many employers of labour and indeed, many State Governments do not see the need to prepare their employees for a new life, this administration however, is a people-oriented one and that has resolved that everyone who has worked diligently for the state has to be recognised, paid his or her dues and assisted to prepare for future challenges”, he added
