BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR— The National Pension Commission (PenCom)⁰ on Tuesday said it has engaged the services of a Consultant to design and develop a new Enrolment Application that will address issues of pension accrued rights
Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, Acting Director-General of the commission disclosed this in Lagos at the ongoing Workshop on the Online Enrolment Application for Pension Desk Officers of Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury-Funded Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), September/October 2024.
According to her the Commission is not oblivious of the challenges being experienced occasionally with the Enrolment Application due to downtimes. It is important to note that these downtimes mostly occur during the last minute rush by retirees and relevant stakeholders to meet the enrolment deadline.
She noted that the new Enrolment Application will also provide users with a more friendly and seamless experience during the enrolment process.
She assured that the Commission is committed to providing support to PDOs during those few periods of downtimes.
On outstanding accrued Rights payment, the PenCom boss said the Federal Government have concluded plans to pay all backlog.
“Although the current delay in release of funds by the Federal Government for the payment of retirees’ accrued rights negates the cardinal objective of the CPS of payment of retirement benefits as and when due, I would like to assure you that this situation will soon be resolved. It is also heart-warming to report to you that concerted efforts by the critical stakeholders have reached advanced stage, to not only clear all outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government under the CPS, but to also put in place lasting solutions that will address the problems of inadequate funding and delay in fund releases for the payment of accrued rights. ”
On the workshop she said “this event kick-starts the final preparations towards commencement of the 2024 Online Enrolment Exercise for 2025 prospective retirees of Treasury-funded MDAs.You would recall that, in line with its statutory mandate, the National Pension Commission conducts annual pre-retirement verification and enrolment exercise for employees of Federal Government Treasury-funded MDAs who are scheduled to retire within the next fiscal year. The objective of the exercise is to obtain accurate information of prospective retirees that would enable PenCom determine their Accrued Pension Rights for budgetary provision by the Federal Government.
“You would also recall that since 2021, the Commission has automated the Retiree enrolment process with the deployment of the Online Enrolment Application, which has the capabilities to register, verify, and enrol prospective retirees of Treasury-funded MDAs. The Application has four modules namely Retiree Module, MDA Module, PFA Module and PenCom Module. As indicated, the Application was designed with the MDA Module that enables the Pension Desk officers to upload information of retirees/prospective retirees.
“Therefore, in recognition of the significant role of the PDOs in the Retiree enrolment process, the Commission deems it necessary to organize annual workshop for the PDOs. Indeed, workshops like this, are integral to the Commission’s mandate and commitment to enhancing the knowledge and building the capacity of stakeholders in the Pension Industry. So, the objective of this workshop is to train the Pension Desk Officers with the requisite knowledge on the relevant Modules of the Enrolment Application.
“Specifically, the workshop will focus on addressing the gaps observed in the previous exercises and enlighten PDOs on the modalities for the upcoming enrolment exercise for 2025 prospective retirees. In addition, PenCom is holding this physical workshop in order to provide PDOs with the necessary hands-on training sessions that would tackle the operational and technical challenges encountered by the PDOs during the enrolment process. I therefore, urge you all to actively participate and ask questions as well as seek further clarifications, where necessary, so as to ensure proper understanding.
She noted that “events like this are timely and crucial as they provide a platform for PenCom to reiterate its commitment to continuous service improvement in the Pension Industry so that contributors and retirees receive the best possible experience regarding pension matters. It is also an occasion to interact with the stakeholders and discuss developments shaping Nigeria’s pension landscape.”
