For the pension contributor under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to change their Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), they need to undergo the Data Recapture Exercise (DRE), the Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar has said.
The PenCom boss stated that the exercise involves recapturing the contributor’s data, including biometrics.
The DRE, according to her, applies to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders who opened their RSAs before July 1, 2019.
She said aside active contributors, retirees who are on the Programmed Withdrawal as well as those on annuity but are making voluntary contributions can also transfer their RSA from one PFA to the other.
She said the process of transferring had been made easy.
She said: “A contributor wishing to transfer from his or her current PFA simply needs to approach the preferred PFA known as the Receiving PFA (RPFA) and submit a transfer request by providing information such as surname, RSA, PIN, current phone number and email.
“The RPFA then proceeds to get the fingerprints of the contributor for authentication with the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC’s) database. Upon successful completion, the PFA would issue a printed confirmation slip, which would be signed by the contributor as proof that the transfer request has been submitted.
“The transferring PFA (TPFA), which is the PFA of the contributor, will then transfer the funds in the RSA of the contributor to the RPFA at the end of the applicable quarter. Transfers are carried out on a quarterly basis and PenCom monitors the transfer process. It is important to note that the change in PFA does not affect the Personal Identification Number (PIN) of the RSA holder which he or she maintains for life.”
Mrs Dahir-Umar maintained that the RSA transfer window has indeed opened another opportunity for contributors to not only enjoy the control of an individualised account but also empowered them to choose the PFA to manage their pension contributions.
“The future of the pension industry is in doubt bright with the evolving nature and innovativeness of the CPS.
“The RSA transfer window would definitely lead to competition among the PFAs for better brand quality, innovation and exceptional service delivery,” she added.
In PenCom report for the first quarter in 2022, 7,663 RSA transfers were initiated by RSA holders out of which 5,543 RSAs were transferred to new PFAs along with the associated pension assets.
The CPS has continued to evolve over the years to the delight of its stakeholders. One of the objectives of the establishment of the CPS is to provide income to retirees’ in their old age. This became necessary after the failure of other pension arrangements to guarantee steady income to the worker upon retirement.The Commission in line with the provisions of Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 (PRA, 2014) issued the RSA transfer regulation to guide stakeholders on the process for transfer of RSAs on the 11th November, 2020. The RSA Transfer System (RTS) also known as the transfer window was formally launched on the November 16, 2020 to facilitate the transfer of an RSA from one PFA to another, provided that it is not more than once in a year.