The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPS) are to further strengthen collaborations for an effective implementation of the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014.
The pension industry regulator (PenCom) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), a key member of the OPSN, spoke at a one-day interactive session, in Lagos, on Thursday, aimed at enhancing compliance with the pension laws.
Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, the director-general of NECA, speaking at the event, said the employer organisations were committed to pursuing the success of the contributory pension scheme, but noted the need for PenCom to work collaboratively with the OPS.
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“The private sector remains committed to the success of the pension scheme as long as our concerns are not only noted but also addressed expeditiously,” Oyerinde said, citing issues of threats to factory shutdown sometimes by workers.
On her part, Aisha Dahir-Umar, the director-general of PenCom, tasked the OPS with compliance with the pension law. The commission said enhanced compliance would enable employees enjoy the benefits of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) upon their retirement.
Specifically, PenCom hammered on deduction and effective remittance of pension contributions, as well as compliance with group life insurance for employees.
The DG, who was represented by Anyim Nyerere, commissioner, technical at PenCom, said the objectives of this interactive session include but are not limited to, enlightening the OPS on the workings of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), sharing thoughts on emerging developments in the Nigerian pension space and providing an opportunity for Pension Operators to interact with the members of the OPS.
She said the pension industry was one of the fastest-growing financial sectors in Nigeria.
‘For instance, at the end of the third quarter of 2023, the number of Retirement Savings Account (RSA) under the CPS stood at 10 million and the size of the pension Asset Under Management amounted to N16.76 trillion.
Dahir-Umar said the commission has continued to take giant strides towards ensuring the smooth implementation of the CPS through the revision of existing regulations and guidelines and the development of new ones.
“Specifically, the commission deployed the Enhanced Contributors Registration System (ECRS) for the pension industry. Following the deployment of the ECRS, the commission also introduced the Data Recapture Exercise (DRE), which mandatorily requires all RSA holders who joined the CPS prior to the 1st of July 2019 to update their information with their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). ”
Accordingly, the commission has consistently urged RSA holders to approach their PFAs for Data Recapture.
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She said in order to facilitate the implementation of Section 13 of the PRA 2014 which allows an RSA holder to transfer his/her RSA from one PFA to another at least once in a year, the Commission developed and deployed the RSA Transfer System (RTS) in 2020.
“The RTS is a computer-based application for initiating, processing and monitoring the RSA Transfer process. It also ensures the seamless transfer of RSAs from one PFA to another.”
“Amongst others, the opening of the RSA transfer window has continued to improve the quality of service delivery by the PFAs.”
