Pension Insight: No access to retirement savings accounts without data recapture, says PenCom

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has directed retirement savings account (RSA) holders enrolled in the contributory pension scheme (CPS) on or before July 1, 2019, to participate in the ongoing data recapture exercise (DRE). This exercise, which is conducted by PFAs, and aligns with the pension industry’s commitment to enhancing the database of registered pension contributors and retirees.

In 2023, a total of 218,953 RSA holders were recaptured by the PFAs. This exercise is important for maintaining up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate data of RSA holders.

However, there are still many eligible RSA holders who are yet to be recaptured and are required to undergo the exercise. It is noteworthy that employees who opened RSAs from July 1, 2019 onwards are not required to be recaptured.

THE NECESSITY OF DATA RECAPTURE

Introduced in July 2019, the enhanced contributor registration system (ECRS) replaced the old contributor registration system (CRS), providing a seamless integration with the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) database.

It enables the verification of the uniqueness of individuals registered by PFAs under the CPS. A major challenge hitherto experienced with the CRS was that at the commencement of the CPS, biometrics of contributors were not captured during RSA registrations due to technological limitations. This challenge has been surmounted with the deployment of the ECRS, which is an in-house computer application developed exclusively by PenCom.

WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?

Participation in the recapture is mandatory for active employees and retirees, who opened their RSAs on or before July 1, 2019. Furthermore, RSA holders with multiple personal identification numbers (PINs) must present all their PINs during the recapture process.

Changes in name due to marriage, employer changes, or next of kin (NOK) alterations require completion of the data recapture process. It is crucial to note that failure to participate in the DRE affects RSA holders’ ability to update registration records in the future.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NON-PARTICIPATION

Not participating in the DRE carries significant implications for accessing pension services from PFAs. For instance, only RSA holders who have completed their data recapture can transfer their RSAs from one pension fund administrator (PFA) to another.

Additionally, contributors who have not been recaptured will not be able to access retirement benefits upon retirement. Furthermore, access to 25 percent of the RSA balance in cases of temporary job loss and access to RSA balance towards payment of equity contribution for residential mortgage are exclusively available to RSA holders who have completed the data recapture.

RSA holders with multiple PINs who fail to recapture their data will experience delays in resolving their situations, potentially resulting in incorrect remittances by employers. This could also result in delayed payment of retirement benefits. Hence, it is in the best interest of RSA holders to participate in the recapture to ensure seamless access to services from PFAs.

REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA RECAPTURE

An RSA holder must possess a NIN in order to be recaptured, in line with the federal government’s national identity policy. Active contributors must visit their PFAs and provide their staff identity card or any valid means of identification, such as a national driver’s license, permanent voter’s card, or international passport.

Additionally, they should present their enrolment slip issued by NIMC and birth certificate or sworn affidavit of age declaration for the recapture. Retirees under programmed withdrawal or annuity should provide any valid means of identification, the enrolment slip issued by NIMC, and the letter of retirement issued by their employer for the recapture.

For RSA holders who have changed their surnames or first names, or both, after registration, the following documents must be presented to their PFA for recapture: marriage certificate (if applicable), newspaper publication for the change of name, and sworn affidavit and confirmation letter for change of name from the employer (if still employed).

PFAs will issue acknowledgement slips to RSA holders upon submission of complete documentation, and notification of the status of their recapture will be sent via text messages within five working days.

CONCLUSION

Eligible RSA holders, both active and retired, are hereby advised to immediately approach their PFAs to provide their NINs, as well as other mandatory biodata information to be recaptured. PenCom remains committed to regulating and supervising the pension industry to ensure timely payment of retirement benefits.