The Lagos State Pension Commission has urged workers in the state to equip themselves with adequate knowledge about the pension system in order to prepare for their physical, emotional and financial well-being in retirement.
This, according to the commission, is in order for the workers to be in a better position and frame of mind to have a comfortable and rewarding life when they are no longer in paid employment.
The Director-General, LASPEC, Mr. Rotimi Hussain, said this during the fifth retirement seminar for workers who were about to retire from the state’s civil service.
He said, "The seminar was designed to further broaden their knowledge on how best to prepare for their retirement and access their retirement benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
"This is in recognition of the general observation that many workers are still finding it difficult to fully understand the operations of the scheme; hence, the need for stakeholders to continually update their knowledge."
Hussain said the commission saw the need to enlighten the workers on the procedures for processing their end of service benefits; how to monitor and ensure that their Retirement Savings Accounts were up to date with payment of the statutory monthly contributions; and also highlight the two exit options provided by the state’s Pension Reform Law, 2007.
The options are the programmed withdrawal provided by the Pension Fund Administrators, and the annuity for life provided by the insurance companies.
He urged the soon to be retired workers to educate themselves on living healthy in retirement and making good investment decisions.
The LASPEC boss said the CPS was recording huge milestone in Lagos State.
He said reports emanating from the industry showed that 28 states in the country had yet to fully subscribe to the CPS, while only six out of 21 state governments that had enacted laws on it remitted N26.17bn into the RSAs of their workers registered under the scheme.
"Statistics from the National Pension Commission also show that Lagos State has continued to remit the highest figure," he noted.
According to him, 3,900 ex-workers of Lagos State are presently enjoying their retirement under the CPS.
"As at the ninth batch of our retirement bond certificate presentation ceremony, the RSAs of the said retirees have, between October 2010 and November 2013, been credited with a sum of N21.49bn," Hussain said.
Source Punch
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