The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has on Monday formally launched the Retirement Savings Account Transfer System (RTS) 16 years after it was conceived in the Pension Reform Act PRA.
Speaking during the Official Virtual Launch of the RTS, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) transfer window was embedded in the PRA as far back as 2004, but was not implemented until now.
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The transfer of RSAs is empowered by the provision of Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which allows a pension contributor or retiree to move his or her RSA from one Pension Fund Administrator to another, provided that it is not more than once in a year.
Mustapha said the electronic platform, RTS, developed by PenCom, would facilitate the transfer of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another once in a year.
He said the Federal Government was confident that the innovation would engender healthy competition among the PFAs and improve service delivery in the pension industry.
The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Aisha Dahir-Umar, said the activation of the RSA transfer provision is a major milestone attained by the Commission in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), considering that it has been on the drawing board since the advent of the Pension Reform.
Dahir-Umar said the Commission had directed PFAs to increase performance disclosures to enable RSA holders make informed decisions.
She said PenCom was unable to embark on the full implementation of the RSA transfer policy due to challenges hitherto experienced in its contributor registration system.
“These challenges were largely hinged on technology, given that in the early days of the pension reform, contributor registration did not include a biometrics component,” she said.
She said the Commission developed and deployed the Enhanced Contributor Registration System (ECRS) in June 2019 and the ECRS has enabled the unique identification of contributors registered on the Commission’s database, which is a critical requirement for smooth RSA transfers.
The PenCom boss said the transfer of RSAs from one PFA to another by RSA holders is all about enhancing individual choices.
“The activation of the RSA transfer is expected to result in improved service delivery across the pension industry, as Pension Fund Administrators engage in healthy competition, by providing improved service offerings for the benefit of RSA holders,” she said.
The pioneer Director General of PenCom, Muhammed Ahmed urged all RSA holders to ensure that their decision to move an RSA from one PFA to another is based on an objective review of the information available on the performance of the PFAs.
Ahmed advised PFAs to maintain the high degree of professionalism prevailing in the pension industry and be innovative on service delivery to contributors and retirees.
