Speeches

Presentation Of The 2nd Batch Of Retirement Bond Certificates To Retirees Under The Contributory Pension Scheme

Feb 17, 2011 - Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I feel a sense of personal fulfillment that I am privileged to witness this day. It is a dream come true. A personal wish fulfilled. A dream to secure the future for pensioners who have given everything to provide schools and education for our children, to make healthcare reliable, to fix our roads, manage our waste, supply us water, make traffic efficient and do so many things we expect from Government; to make public service efficient.

I have always agonized about why a person who has given all of his productive life in public service has to go through so much agony to get a pension and ..live in peaceful retirement. Can we truly attract the best brains to the public service if this state of affairs persist?

Can we seriously seek to expect our people to resist the temptation to compromise if they are afraid of the future?

This is why I made a personal resolve to do everything possible to implement the Contributory Pension Law that my predecessor had the vision to adapt and assent to during his tenure.

I must express personal gratitude to all those who have made this day possible. The Chairman and members of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) , members of the Executive Council, the Head of Service, Honourable Commissioner for Establishment, Permanent Secretary~

I am most delighted to congratulate all the retirees gathered here today to receive the retirement bond certificates showing the pension and gratuity entitlements due to you for your years of meritorious service in Lagos State up to 31 st March, 2007 when we transited into the contributory pension scheme.

You will recall that on the 28th of October, 2010, we blazed the trail with the presentation of Retirement Bond Certificates to 103 retirees. Total Bond Value redeemed immediately by the State Government into the retirement savings account of this first batch of Retirement Bond recipients was N412,878,986.80. (Four Hundred and Twelve Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred & Eighty Six Naira, Eighty Kobo Only).

We promised you at the commencement of the new scheme that we would ensure funding of the past service liabilities in strict compliance with the provisions of the Lagos Pension Law. The contributory pension scheme was designed for your comfort. Our main objective in subscribing to the scheme is to ensure that retirement benefits are paid as they fall due. That promise is being fulfilled today.

For the record, I believe it is important to state clearly that you are the second batch of retirees who will be collecting their bonds in this State under the new Contributory Pension Scheme.

As we speak today, that first batch of retirees have collected their lump sum which you refer to as gratuity, whilst monthly, not later than on the 26th of every month; their pension (a programmed withdrawal amount agreed to by the retiree with his/her pension fund administrator), is credited into their bank accounts.

The ease of administering this scherne has gone a long way in assuring retirees that the contributory pension scheme is the best thing that has happened to employees in !-he State with respect to their retirement benefits.

I am happy to announce that we have kept our promise. The future of Lagos Pensioners is not assured and secured.

You will recall that across the country, retirees went through harrowing experiences under the old Scheme before their files were processed and their entitlements could be paid. It was a common experience for pension entitlements to commence without payment of the gratuity benefit due to lack of funding by various governments. Pensioners under that Scheme were also subjected to rigorous verification exercise and some even died whilst waiting to be attended to.

Lagos State Government was the first State to subscribe to the Contributory Pension Scheme; the first State to establish a fully operational Pension Commission to ensure that the interest of every public servant at retirement was protected; the first in the whole of Nigeria to issue Retirement Bonds to retirees.

At the commencement of the Scheme in April, 2007,there were some teething problems associated with Change. Change comes with its apprehensions, but life's reality is that the only thing constant in life is change. Some of us were reluctant to open retirement savings accounts because of the fear of the unknown; some even considered resigning their appointments; many felt that their years in service before 31st March, 2007 would go unrecognized and some even felt that subscribing to the new scheme was a way by Government to shy away from her responsibilities to the workers.

What is happening here today is clear evidence, if one is needed, of our genuine intention towards the improvement of the lives of those who have worked diligently in the service of the State. This is a day every worker who had spent the prime of his years in service looks forward to.

Today, with your own hands you are receiving the reward of your years of dedicated service to Lagos State.

Let me once again commend the trail blazing Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) which was inaugurated in February, 2010 for their diligence with which they have approached the process of managing this change.

They had the herculean task of first ensuring proper enlightenment of all Civil Servants in Lagos State to embrace the policy and build confidence in the scheme.

Sensitization seminars for workers took place in various locations and on Alausa radio every Wednesday at noon. Frequently Asked Questions booklets were distributed to workers and several visits were paid to Parastatals and other State Government agencies to ascertain the level of Compliance.

The efforts have clearly paid off, as:
1. Compliance level increased significantly with the number of registered employees increasing from 82,867 to over 110,000.

2. A total number of 8,150 Civil Servants visited the Commission's Customer care unit to lodge cornplaints about their Retirernent Savings Account (RSA). Every case was courteously and well attended to. These were critical milestones that built confidence in the Scheme.

3. 156 wrongly enrolled retirees had the contributions deducted from their salaries paid back to them by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and the accounts were subsequently closed. Requests come in on a daily basis and were dealt with by courteous.

4. Over 28,000 Teaching Staff of SUBEB who previously had no group life cover arrangement as prescribed by the Law are now covered and in the event of death whilst in service, their dependants will in addition to the accrued pension rights, along with State and employee's contributions with any accrued interest earnings in the RSA account, also receive 350% of the deceased's annual total emolument consisting of basic salary, housing and transport allowances.

5. Many Parastatals are also now fully compliant as they have instituted the group life cover and also carried out actuarial valuations to know their liability to the staff under the old Scheme.

It is indeed heart-warming to note that in the State a lot of confidence has been reposed in the Lagos State Pension Commission. The Commission receives regularly, SOS mails from retirees with long outstanding problems under the PAYGO scheme. The Commission has successfully resolved many cases, some of which date back to 2003, and those I have referred to them.

The State Government invested heavily in the ICT infrastructure of the Lagos State Pension Commission to aid the prompt processing of benefits, eliminate manual errors and also block perceived leakages in pension administration. Now, instead of spending weeks typing Bond Certificates manually, it takes less than an hour to print about 250 Certificates.

The official website of the Commission will soon be linked to that of the Lagos State Government so that from the State Government's official website, you can link up to the Commission to make enquiries on any pension matter as the website is interactive.

We value our people. You are the oil providing necessary lubrication to ensure that the State machinery delivers her promises to the people. Your comfort at retirement matters greatly to us. Our commitment to secure a brighter and rewarding future is absolute.

The Joint Negotiation Council representing the interest of workers at their last meeting held in December, 2010 commended the Commission for her efforts in ensuring sanity in the State, Pension Administration, and specifically, on the issuance of the Redemption Bond Certificates.

Our State, the Centre of Excellence has once again blazed the trail in pension administration and some States who mean well for their workers have indicated their interest to share our experience.

As usual, our doors are open; to share what we know and seek to learn what we do not know.

Today, the second batch, comprising of 217 retirees will receive their passport to a glorious future - the Retirement Bond Certificates showing values of accrued pension rights as at 31 st March, 2007.

The Total Bond Value redeemed on behalf of the 217 retirees is N887,362,600.56. (Eight Hundred and Eighty Seven million, Three Hundred and Sixty Two Thousand, Six Hundred Naira, Fifty Six Kobo Only). The Bond values were actuarially determined by the international firm of Alexander Forbes Consulting Limited, engaged by the Lagos State Government.

To demonstrate our Commitment again, the Bond values have already been redeemed and paid into the individual retirement savings account and together with invested contributions by the employee and the State from April, 2007.

Your Pension Fund Administrator will engage you in discussions and advise you on what you will receive as lump sum to jump start you into a life of financial independence after a near lifetime of public service and also compute what your monthly pension will be.

For all those praying for a day like this, it shall surely,: come to pass.

Our promise of a brighter and rewarding future is an irrevocable commitment.

Thank you.

Eko O ni baje O!

Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)
Governor of Lagos State