PenCom to open window for workers to change PFAs

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) Thursday said it would soon open the window that would offer employees the liberty to transfer their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) to another Pension Fund Administrator of their choice.

It also stated that the opening of the RSA transfer window would speed up full and equitable pension assets portability within the pension industry, improve ethical competition among the PFAs and boost service delivery to RSA holders.

In a statement released on Thursday titled, ‘Transfer of Retirement Savings Account,’ PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communication, Peter Aghahowa, noted that contributors are allowed under Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 to move their RSAs via a transfer window from one PFA to another, provided that it is not more than once in a year.

‘The National Pension Commission has being working assiduously to actualise the provisions of Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act, 2014.

‘Preparatory to the opening of the transfer window, the commission developed and deployed the Enhanced Contributor Registration System in September 2019.’

PenCom said it had developed the RSA Transfer System (RTS), an electronic platform that would facilitate easy RSA transfers.

It declared that PFAs would have the chance to leverage the RTS platform to submit RSA transfer requests.

It however mentioned that it was unable to execute these activities as planned on account of the nationwide lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

PenCom said arrangements for a holistic training plan were completed subsequent to the relaxation of the lockdown by the Nigerian government and the removal of embargo on interstate travels between the end of June and July