Transfer Window: Premium Pension leads in investment returns as RSA holders consider reasons to port

Grace Usoro, the Director in charge of the National Databank at the National Pension Commission (Pencom) and Project Director for the RTS, advised contributors to base their choice to change PFAS on informed decisions around service delivery, accessibility and investment returns.

With the launch of the Retirement Savings Accounts Transfer System ( RTS) by the National Pension Commission (Pencom) on Monday 16th November 2020, Retirement savings Account(RSA) holders are beginning to consider reasons to port to their choice Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS).

The transfer of RSAS is empowered by 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 it is not more than once in a year.

While speaking during the official launch of the RTS, the Director-General Aisha Dahir Umar, said the activation of the RSA Transfer Window provision is a major milestone achieved by the commission in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

She, however, advised all PFAS to further increase performance disclosures to enable RSA holders to make informed decisions.

In her remarks, Grace Usoro, the Director in charge of the National Databank at the National Pension Commission (Pencom) and Project Director for the RTS, advised contributors to base their choice to change PFAS on informed decisions around service delivery, accessibility and investment returns.

To that effect, the Commission has taken the decision to display the performance of PFAS over the years on its website, and a review of the information reveals that Premium Pension Limited ( PPL), one of Nigeria’s leading Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) has continued to maintain its leadership position in Nigeria’s pension industry.

A recent publication on the regulators’ website (Pencom) shows that the company’s return of 14.49 percent (2017-2019) three-year rolling average) was the highest amongst members in the RSA Fund II category. This is 2.3 percent above the industry average of 12.19 percent, driven by the Company’s unique investment philosophy and process.

Fund II is the oldest pension fund under the Multi- Fund structure. It is the default fund for contributors aged 49 and below, with exposure to various investment instruments. Since inception, Premium Pension has maintained consistent and competitive growth in this fund type.

Modestus Anaesoronye

Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd. A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia. Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.