Data from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) reveals that 312,771 Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders have transferred approximately N1.41 trillion between Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) over the last 16 quarters. This amount represents the total value of assets moved from one PFA to another, as reported by PenCom’s latest data.
Under Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, employees are permitted to transfer their retirement savings from one PFA to another, but not more than once per year. PenCom officially launched the Retirement Savings Account Transfer System on November 9, 2020. To initiate a transfer, RSA holders do not need to visit their current PFA (the transferring PFA). Instead, they should approach the PFA they wish to transfer to (the receiving PFA) and provide their RSA PIN, surname, current phone number, and email address. The receiving PFA then validates the RSA holder’s biodata and captures their fingerprint to authenticate their identity. The transfer process concludes when the receiving PFA prints two copies of a confirmation slip for the RSA holder to sign. One copy is retained by the PFA, and the other is given to the RSA holder as proof of the initiated transfer.
PenCom’s recent data highlights a notable increase in the volume of transferred assets in 2024. In the first quarter, 22,927 RSA holders transferred N120.87 billion. In the next quarter, the amount moved rose to N128.87 billion from 20,993 RSA holders. By the third quarter, the value of transferred assets reached N141.87 billion, marking the third-highest amount since the system’s inception. A total of 23,226 RSA holders participated in this transfer. As of the first three quarters of 2024, 67,146 RSA holders had moved N391.60 billion between PFAs.
Since the system’s launch, the highest value of assets transferred occurred in Q2 of 2023, when 34,359 RSA holders moved N158.60 billion. The second-highest transfer took place in Q3 2022, with 30,973 RSA holders transferring N143.09 billion.
PenCom believes the RSA transfer system has encouraged improved service delivery in the pension industry, as PFAs now engage in healthy competition to provide better offerings for RSA holders.
As of October 2024, total pension fund assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) had reached N21.92 trillion, with contributions from 10.53 million registered participants. PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, expects these assets to surpass N22 trillion by the end of 2024.
Oloworaran emphasized PenCom’s commitment to fund safety, prudent management, and sustainable growth. However, she also acknowledged the economic challenges impacting pension funds, including high inflation, naira devaluation, and the effects of unconventional monetary policies, which have eroded the real value of pension funds and reduced contributors’ purchasing power.
To mitigate these challenges, PenCom has undertaken a review of its investment regulations, focusing on diversifying investments into inflation-protected instruments, alternative assets, and foreign-currency-denominated investments.
