PenCom deploys high tech digital platform to boost CPS
By Asishana John
In a bid to strengthen the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), and make it a retirement savings account (RSA) holders and retirees-friendly and convenient platform, the National Pension Commission (PenCom),has deployed high-powered technological platform accessible to stakeholders.
Disclosing this at the journalist seminar organised by the Commission in Lagos, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, the Director General at the Commission noted that “the most recent technological innovation introduced by the Commission is the in-house designed and developed online Enrolment Application, which has capabilities to register, verify and enroll prospective retirees of Treasury-Funded Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”
She said by the deployment of this new application, mass gathering of people has been avoided while enhancing convenience for the prospective retirees through a seamless enrolment process.
Another notable technological innovation by the Commission, she added, was the design and deployment of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Transfer System (RTS), which was launched in November 2020.
The RTS is a Computer Application developed by the Commission, through which RSA holders transfer their RSAs from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another.
Dahir-Umar continued that the activation of the RSA transfer provision, which according to her, deepens individual choices, is a major milestone in the implementation of the CPS.
She further assured that the implementation of the CPS remains on course as she disclosed that the number of registered contributors under the CPS has grown to 9.38 million while pension fund assets have accumulated to N12.66 trillion as at 30 June 2021 noting that the maintenance of a consistent growth trajectory continues to justify the Commission’s overriding investment philosophy of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.
“Distinguished Participants, the sessions at this Workshop will commence with a presentation on the Commission’s Strategic Focus Areas. These comprise areas of emphasis that are pursued vigorously towards the attainment of the Commission’s objectives.
“Public Enlightenment and education is one of the five Strategic Focus Areas currently pursued by the Commission. This is considered germane considering that seventeen years after the pension reform in Nigeria, there still exists a knowledge gap on the CPS. Consequently, the Commission is committed to reinvigorating its public enlightenment and education drive in order to address this challenge.
“Other Strategic Focus Areas include the resolution of outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government; portfolio diversification of pension fund investments, improvement in customer service delivery across the pension industry and unrelenting pursuit of sustainable growth of the pension industry by expanding coverage of the CPS.”
The Workshop titled ‘Understanding the RSA Transfer Process’ provided insights into the features of the RSA Transfer System (RTS), which enables the seamless transfer of RSAs from one pension fund administrator (PFA) to another while the third presentation centred on the online Enrolment Application for verification and enrolment of prospective retirees of Treasury-Funded MDAs.
The Director General expressed immense gratitude to the Commission’s media partners particularly for the support in reporting the activities of the pension industry.
She urged the media practitioners to note that the ultimate goal of the workshop was to impart sufficient knowledge about the topical issues to enable education of the public o pension matters.
