ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT POLICY IN LAGOS STATE PENSION COMMISSION

Abstract

Attempts to develop a better understanding of the interaction between death benefit payer and deceased worker beneficiaries suggest that such compensation have positive impact on the psychological wellbeing of the dependents. Loss of work opportunities through ailment and injury and or death represents serious threat to mental and physical wellbeing of workers which necessitated benefit payment for inevitable. Survey research design with open-ended interviews and innovation in small sample size research was employed for this study. The study offers a harmonizing perspective to qualitative studies exploring effect of workplace fatality and contributes to the growing qualitative study on factors influencing payment of death benefit in establishments. Assessment of effectiveness of death benefit payment policy to deceased workers’ beneficiaries to determine rate of processing group life policy and promptness in payment of social security funds were justified. The belief and experience of both death benefit workers and beneficiaries as explored through oral interview, offers insight to social security plan and revealed the imperativeness of group life policy sphere in Lagos State Government. In a bid to strengthen the prompt payment of death benefit in terms of creation of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) and enactment of the State Pension Law in the year2007 repealed in 2019 is to protect those who are financially dependent on the deceased employee during his life time. The study implores the workers to get a will to avoid letter of administration which takes more than a year before its completion at probate in circumstance of any occurrence as obtaining a will today does not mean tomorrow’s death.