Barely two weeks after the launch of Pension Transfer Window by the National Pension Commission (Pencom), no fewer than 2100 Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders for having applied to switch their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS).
This was disclosed Thursday by Pencom, who noted that the recent transfer window will spike competition for quality service and returns on investment for the benefit of contributors and retirees.
Making the disclosure at the 2020 Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria(penop) Media Retreat for pension correspondents held virtually.
Polycarp Anyanwu, head, ICT at Pencom said, over 2,100 applications were submitted and received by the commission between 16th and 30th of November, 2020.
The transfer window known as Retirement Savings Account Transfer System (RTS) was launched by Pencom on the 16th of November, 2020 in Abuja, in accordance with Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 which allows contributors to 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.
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Polycarp noted that most of the pension contributors seeking a switch to a new PFAS were those who were not comfortable with the service delivery of their current pension fund handlers, a development, he said, will no doubt, enhance the quality service delivery of the PFAS to their clients.
Explaining how the window operates, he said, the RTS has four quarters in a year, which are; 31st of March, 30th of June, 31st of September, and 31st of December in which contributors can change their PFAS once in a year, adding that, the over 2,100 applications received so far, would be processed for the 31st of December, 2020 window.
A month to the above-mentioned dates, he said, the affected PFAS must have submitted the necessary documentation to the regulatory body, informing it of the amount leaving their kitty and the RSA holders concerned, so as to give ample time for both Pencom, the affected PFAS and the receiving PFAS to plan ahead.
On the part of the contributors, he said, majorly, fingerprint, which serves as their consent, is a unique criterion to switch PFAS.
Although, he expects some pension fund operators to be on the losing end and some proactive ones winning the porting contributors, he stressed that, the overall benefits, is to instill healthy competition among operators, which would, in return, lead to better service delivery and improved investment returns on pension assets.
Similarly, the head, Corporate Communications, Pencom, Peter Aghaghowa, said, the activation of the RSA transfer process will engender competition and improve service delivery in the pension industry, while asserting the right of RSA holders to determine which PFA manages their pension contributions and retirement benefits.
Addressing participants at the conference, president of Penop, Wale Odutola, who is also the managing director/ CEO, ARM Pensions, said, pension fund operators have done the necessary requirement by upgrading their IT systems in a bid to enhance seamless pension account transfer among operators, while PFAS have attached much importance to better service delivery.
