Hot SourceEbere Nwoji
The National Pension Commission (PenCom), said it has strategised to eradicate unnecessary delays to payment of pension benefits to pensioners by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Life Insurance Companies.
In a circular signed by the Head, Surveillance Department, PenCom Abdulrahman Saleem, with reference number PenCom/lNSP/Surv/2025/Aut/451, with the title, “Approval of Benefits to Holders of Retirement Savings Accounts by Licensed Pension Operators,” and sent to all licensed pension fund operators, it noted that effective from June 1, 2025, it would no longer approve or grant “No Objections” to some benefits applications before the PFAs process them for payments.
According to PenCom, the benefits applicable are: Programmed Withdrawal; Retire Life Annuity; Access to Benefits upon Temporary Loss of Employment; En-Bloc Payments to retirees whose RSA balances cannot provide a reasonable pension; Pre-Pension Reform Act benefits payments to retirees in the private sector; Voluntary Contributions; Payments to RSA holders towards payment of equity contributions for residential mortgages; Payment of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Contributions to retirees whose NSITF contributions were transferred to their RSAs; changes in the periodicity of pension payments; Resolution of Errors from employers’ remittances of pension contributions for private sector and Self-funding Agencies; and Refunds to persons exempted from participating in the CPS by the PRA 2014.
PenCom said the processing, approval and payment of the above requests, “shall be concluded by the PFA within two working days” after completing the necessary documentations and instructing the appointed PFC to effect payment, with the Commission in copy.”
