The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has released a new circular outlining the operational guidelines for Licensed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) regarding their branches and service centers. This directive aims to enhance service delivery by PFAs to meet the growing demand for pension-related services. PenCom, established under the Pension Reform Act 2004, is responsible for regulating, supervising, and ensuring the effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria. The circular specifically targets improving the accessibility and efficiency of services offered to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.
The circular outlines specific requirements for PFAs regarding the establishment of branch offices and service centers. PFAs are required to open a branch office in any state where they manage at least 10,000 funded RSAs. In addition to this, a PFA must open at least one service center in a different location within a state where they administer 20,000 or more funded RSAs. Furthermore, even if a PFA doesn’t meet the 10,000 or 20,000 RSA thresholds, they are still obligated to open a service center in any state where they have at least 2,000 funded RSAs.
Special provisions are made for PFAs managing state government employees’ RSAs. A PFA managing RSAs for state governments implementing the contributory pension scheme must open a service center in that state if they have at least 1,000 funded RSAs. The lead PFA managing a state government’s contributory defined benefits scheme is required to establish a branch office in the state capital. Regardless of the other criteria, every PFA is mandated to have branch offices in at least two states within each of the country’s geo-political zones. Both branch offices and service centers are expected to provide a range of services, including contributor registration and enrollment, records updates, and the collection of contribution schedules.
