How to change your PFA and What to do afterwards

November 21, 2020April 25, 2021 PensionNigeria Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), Pro, Transfer Window

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has opened the Transfer Window to enable Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders move from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another. In this piece we are detailing how to transfer your RSA from one PFA to another, that is, how to change your PFA and also, most importantly, the things you must ensure you do afterwards.

Update your documents – Data Recapture is compulsory.

The first thing you must do if you want to change your PFA is to ensure that your details with your current PFA are correct. for example, your phone number, age, gender, employer name etc. To ensure this, PenCom has mandated that all RSA holder must complete Data Recapture with the current PFA, that is, you must ensure that your personal details have been recaptured and updated on the Enhanced Contributory Registration System (ECRS) by your current PFA.

It is also necessary to note that Data Recapture only applies to people who opened their RSA before 1st of July 2019, anybody who opened an RSA after 1st of July 2019 does not need to do Data recaptured.

Data Recapture is not only necessary to change your PFA it is also necessary for you to withdraw from your RSA. National Identification Number (NIN) is arguably the most important document for Data Recapture but you can check here for the general documents and contact your current PFA to do Data Recapture.

Does your Employer accept the PFA.

For people who work in the public sector, especially state government, before you change your PFA you must ensure that the PFA your are changing to is allowed by your State. Some states don’t allow their employees to use any PFA, they have specifically chosen some PFAs that employees are allowed to choose from so you must ensure that the PFA you are changing to is allowed by your State. This should not happen for Federal Government employees but its advisable you reconfirm and it should never occur in the private sector even if your work in the PFA.

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Submission of RSA Transfer Request to Receiving PFA

PenCom did something we are very happy about here by allowing RSA holders to submit their request to change PFA to the PFA they want to move to (Receiving PFA) but you must have done Data Recapture with your current PFA. Submission of request to transfer RSA from one PFA to another is free of charge but you can only change your PFA once every 365 days, irrespective of whether it is a leap year or not.

Once you have completed your Data Recapture with your current PFA and you have received confirmation that it has been done, you can then approach the PFA that you intend to move your RSA to, (the Receiving PFA) and submit the transfer request by providing the following; Surname, RSA PIN, Email, Current Phone Number, note that these details should be the same with what you used for Data Recapture.

Validation of Identity

As an extra layer of security, you will be required to provide your fingerprint to the Receiving PFA for the authentication of your identity on the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC’s) database. Thereafter, the Receiving PFA will issue a printed confirmation slip, which should be signed by you as proof that your transfer has been submitted. Please ensure you collect your copy of the slip and keep it safe as evidence that your transfer request has been submitted.

Transfer of RSA and Funds to Receiving PFA

The first thing to note here is that Transfer of RSA is not done immediately, it is done at the end of every quarter and if you submit your transfer request on the last month of the quarter then your RSA transfer will be done at the end of the next quarter. For example, if you want your transfer request to be done this year you must have completed Data Recapture and submit your RSA Transfer request to the Receiving PFA before the last day of November 2020 for your RSA to be transferred on 31 December 2020, any RSA transfer request submitted in December 2020 will be transferred on 31 March 2021.

Once your RSA transfer request has been submitted on the RSA Transfer System by your Receiving PFA, the backend process will be initiated and your current PFA will transfer all the funds in your RSA to your new PFA at the end of the applicable transfer quarter. The RSA Transfer process is closely monitored and must be approved by PenCom.

Notification to RSA Holder

Once your RSA has been transferred to the Receiving PFA at the end of your applicable quarter you will be notified by PenCom and the Receiving PFA that your RSA has been transferred.

Updates on the status of the RSA transfer request will be sent via email and or SMS using the telephone number and email address provided by the RSA holder when the transfer request was initiated.

Notify your employer

It is the responsibility of an RSA holder who has changed PFA to inform his employer about his new PFA. The RSA holder must also collect the Pension Fund Custodian (PFC) details from the new PFA and give it to the employer. It’s the PFC’s details that the employer will use to send the RSA holder’s pension contributions to the new PFA.

An RSA holder who has requested for his RSA to be transferred from one PFA to another must ensure that he informs his employer immediately after he has been notified by PenCom or the Receiving PFA that his RSA has been transferred to the Receiving PFA (the new PFA he has moved to) not before or weeks after. The purpose of doing this at the right time is to ensure that your employer does not send your pension contributions to the wrong PFA.

Don’t miss FAQs on RSA Transfer Window – What You Should Know

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