By Ngozi Onyeakusi– The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is set to allow contributors move their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) through a transfer window from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another, provided that it is not more than once in a year.
PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communication, Mr Peter Aghahowa who made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday said that PenCom has been working to actualise the provisions of Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act, (PRA) 2014.
Aghahowa said preparatory to the opening of the transfer window, the commission developed and deployed the Enhanced Contributor Registration System (ECRS) in September 2019.
“ The commission has developed the RSA Transfer System (RTS) a robust electronic platform that will enable seamless RSA transfers. PFAs will be able to utilise the RTS platform for the submission of RSA transfer requests.
“ The full deployment of the platform, will however, entail extensive training of the PFA’s relevant personnel and simulation of the processes industry wide.
“ The commission was unable to carry out these activities as planned due to the nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Aghahowa said.
He said that with the easing of the lockdown by the Federal Government and the lifting of the ban on interstate travels, the preparations for a comprehensive training plan was concluded.
Aghahowa said that the commission was currently holding workshops on the RTS for the Pension Operators, which would run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 28.
“ It is also expected that in line with the plan, Operators will participate in an industry simulation of transfer processes and simulations in September,” he said.
He said the opening of the transfer window would facilitate full and equitable pension assets portability within the pension industry, enhance ethical competition amongst the PFAs and improve service delivery to RSA holders.
He also said that the commission was optimistic that all necessary preparations would take place to enable opening of the RSA Transfer Window by the end of the year.