PENCOM plans PFA transfer window
By Gambo Jagindi
The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) said on Saturday that it would open the window for the transfer of Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) tentatively by june 2020.
The Head of Corporate Communication, PENCOM, Mr. Peter Aghohowa, disclosed this in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on the sidelines of the 2019 media retreat organised by the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PENOP).
Aghohowa said the fact that a date had been tentatively fixed indicated that work was in progress to actualise the mandate.
He said the pension operators and PENCOM had been meeting and work had reached an advanced stage toward achieving the ideal.
He said: “One thing that is critical towards this, is the Enhanced Contributor Registration System (ECRS) that was recently launched.
“That is what is making our data integrity better, coupled with the fact that we are also linked with the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) on the issue of National Identification Number (NIN).
“You can be sure that in a couple of months, the data we have will be ready because it is a prerequisite for the transfer window and that is why we say we are getting closer and optimistic that we will reach the milestone.”
Earlier at the retreat, Aghahowa hinted that 19 PFAs had registered over 28,000 participants for the newly launched Micro Pension Plan (MPP) for the self-employed as of October this year.
He said the plan was introduced to have the self-employed inculcated into the pension arrangement in order to capture a large chunk of the working population in Nigeria.
According to him, the MPP has a peculiarity in terms of contribution, registration and investment and the guidelines provided for the management of funds are in line with the multi-fund structure.
he said the scheme, among other things, was designed to improve the standard of living of the self-employed on retirement, among other benefits.
“The requirement of NIN as prerequisite to register for the scheme has slowed down the process of the MPP,” Aghahowa added. (NAN)