As the nation awaits issuance of final guidelines for opening of transfer window as provided by the Pension Reform Act 2014, by the National Pension Commission (Pencom), there are indications that Ibtc pension managers and others not performing up to the expectations of their customers might experience exodus of some of its customers to other administrators, investigations by metrobusinessnews.com platform have revealed.
They are thirteen firms licensed by Pencom since 2015, although reduced by one after FCMB Pensions acquired AIICO pensions.
They include NLPC Pension Fund Administrators; IBTC Investment Managers Limited; and AIICO Pension Managers Limited.
Others are Crusader Pensions Limited; Leadway PFA Limited; TRUSTFUND Pensions Plc; First Provident Trust Company Limited; and First Premium Asset Limited.
Also included Sigma Vaughn Sterling Pensions Limited; Provident Alliance Limited; First Alliance Pension and Benefits; Legacy Pension Managers Limited; and Pension Alliance Limited.
The development is as a result of deterioration in the services of the foremost pension managers, for which workers are anxiously waiting for the window of opportunity to make good their threats and free themselves from epileptic service.
Besides, the undue delay by the company in processing payments for the retirees under the guise of waiting for approvals from PenCom has pitched some of the retirees against the company.
Transfer window is a platform created by PenCom to enable pension contributors who are dissatisfied with the services of their current Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) to transfer to any other PFA of their choice.
According to some experts, implementing the transfer window will be an exciting happening within the industry as this will engender spirit of competition among the PFAs on how to retain old contributors as much as possible, and also win new ones.
Indeed, the analysts say the democratisation of the process and other amendments would instill confidence in the system bedeviled by lethargy and inefficiency on the part of the regulator.
For instance, the present arrangement by the regulator has made some PFAs to be complacent in service delivery as well the inability of the regulator to dish out the necessary punishments to defaulting employers who hold on to funds deducted from the salaries of their workers rather than remitting it into their accounts with PFAs.
While the FFAs keep sending ‘ordinary’ account statements with their deafening silence on fresh lodgements or credits, which by implications, make them accomplices, they are however, quick to point out to customers to approach the regulator for sanctions as they cannot raise alarm for non remittances by employers.
However, it was further gathered that bureaucracy and lack of unity of purpose within PenCom is responsible for the delay in the implementation of the project, which was initially billed to start June this year.
However, the full implementation is however based on the completion of the ongoing data-recapturing exercise embarked upon by PFAs.
The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) is believed to be behind the project which is expected to usher in a new era in pension funds administration in Nigeria.
The operators are said to be nearing completion of the exercise which will witness the harmonisation and reconciliation of all information on all Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Specifically, information of some pension contributors who may have inadvertently registered with more than one Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), in other words having more than one PIN, will be reconciled.
Already, some of the contributors and retirees said they have started the process of transfer, awaiting the commencement of the exercise by the regulator.
“I started my process of transfer from ibtc pension yesterday and I was told by my preferred PFA to come along with only acceptable identity card, from the National Identity Management Company, NIMC, among other requirements.
Another respondent, retiree lamented the delay by ibtc to commence the 25 percent lumpsum from payments from his account into the PFA’s since March this year.
“Dear Client, while we await payment approval, please be patient. We apologize for the delay,” statement always from ibtc since June, after acknowledging receipt of the funds same month.
It got to another level whereby there was disagreement on whether to pay full amount without annuity or with it since it was the secong one being processed and from a different lodgements from another employer. But, after sometime, the company realised its mistake and promised to revise their decision, a development that has turned out to be sending out of same message everytime.
“[8/14, 15:54] Good evening madam. Pls let me know what is happening so as to properly situate it. I will not be blamed if I tell the world that ibtc is into pranks and any other means at frustrating their customers’ efforts at accessing their funds. U better escalate this issue now before it passes you and I.
“[8/14, 18:14]: Your application has been sent to pencom for approval.
We are awaiting approval from pencom.”
The waiting and annoying game continues.
Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act (2014) specifies that an employee may, not more than once in a year, transfer his Retirement Savings Account (RSA) from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another.
