A significant aspect of the transition to retirement for employees of Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is participation in the Annual Pre-retirement Verification and Enrolment Exercise organised by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). PenCom recently announced the commencement of the 2022 Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise for retirees/prospective retirees of FGN Treasury-Funded MDAs. The exercise is scheduled to commence on Monday, 20th June 2022. All retirees and prospective retirees for the year 2022 are required to complete the verification and enrolment exercise by 31 August 2022 to enable the computation of their accrued pension rights. The accrued pension rights represent an employee’s benefits for past services rendered to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) prior to the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), from the date of their first appointment to 30 June 2004. The annual exercise which is carried out to determine the accrued pension liability is in line with the provisions of Section 15 of the PRA 2014, which requires that the accrued entitlement of any employee under the Defined Benefit Scheme who migrated to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), be recognized by a Bond, which shall be redeemed into the Retirement Savings Account (RSA).
PenCom had automated the Pre-retirement Verification and Enrolment of prospective retirees of Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs) in September 2021. Prior to this, the annual physical enrolment exercise by the Commission was conducted at selected centres in the six geo-political zones of the country. The restriction of mass gatherings which stemmed from the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, prevented the retirees and prospective retirees from being enrolled at the various centres, as had been the practice. In response to this challenge, the Commission successfully designed and developed the Online Enrolment Application, which automated the process. The Application which has capabilities to register, verify and enrol prospective retirees, effectively eliminates the need for mass gatherings while enhancing comfort for the prospective retirees who are now enabled to participate in the exercise through the Application. For added convenience, the application can be accessed either through mobile phones or computer systems.
Preparatory to the official deployment of the Application for use by the prospective retirees, the Commission embarked on the enlightenment of stakeholders. In recognition of the vital role of MDAs, through their Pension Desk Officers (PDOs) in sensitizing and assisting retirees to undergo the online verification and enrolment exercise, workshops were organized for the PDOs of all FGN Treasury-Funded MDAs, to expose them to the Enrolment Application and procedures for the verification of prospective retirees. The workshops were held in the six geo-political zones of the country and the FCT. Similarly, the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have their role clearly outlined. They are responsible for verification and enrolment of the prospective retirees, assisting those who are not able to use the self-service option to register on the Enrolment Application, and forwarding the required reports to PenCom. Workshops were held for relevant personnel of the PFAs in order to equip them with requisite knowledge on the Enrolment Application.
Eligibility for the 2022 verification and enrolment exercise is restricted to employees of Federal Government Treasury-Funded MDAs who are scheduled to retire in 2022, and those that missed the enrolment exercises in previous years.
As a prerequisite for this exercise, the retirees/prospective retirees are to undergo the Data Recapture Exercise. This entails providing their personal information and National Identity Number (NIN) to their Pension Fund Administrator. Those who have already undergone the data recapture are not required to repeat the exercise but should proceed with the online enrolment.
The Enrolment Application is hosted on the Commission’s website, www.pencom.gov.ngwhere retirees/prospective retirees can log on to register, complete their employment details, and upload scanned copies of the required documents.
The Stages of the Online Verification and Enrolment Exercise
The online verification and enrolment exercise is carried out in three (3) stages namely, Registration, Verification and Enrolment.
The Registration Stage
In order to ease the process for prospective retirees, two registration/enrolment options have been provided: the Self-Assisted option and the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA)/ Pension Desk Officers (PDO)-Assisted option
The step-by-step procedure for the Online Enrolment is hosted on the PenCom website.
Retirees/prospective retirees who choose the Self-Assisted option, are required to visit PenCom’s website (www.pencom.com.ng) and upload their employment details as well as scanned copies of the required documents before proceeding to their respective PFAs for physical verification and enrolment.
On the other hand, retirees/prospective retirees who are unable to complete the online registration for any reason could approach PDOsof their respective MDAs or visit their PFAs for assistance.
The Verification Stage
The retiree/prospective retiree is required to visit their PFA’s nearest branch office for the verification stage. The essence of the verification is to validate the information and documents uploaded by the retiree/prospective retiree. The PFAs would therefore sight the original or Certified True Copies (CTC) of the documents uploaded by the retiree/prospective retiree and retain only the original Records of Service and the Letter of Introduction from the MDA.
The Enrolment Stage
Following successful verification, the PFA shall capture a live photograph of the retiree/prospective retiree on the enrolment Application. Thereafter, the PFA shall print two copies of the Registration Slip, for the signatures of the retiree/prospective retiree and the Enrolment Officer. One copy of the Registration slip is to be scanned and uploaded on the Enrolment Application while the second copy would be given to the retiree/prospective retiree.
The automation of the verification and enrolment exercise will facilitate the smooth conduct of the retiree enrolment exercise and enable PenCom to seamlessly carry out the computations of accrued pension rights. With the relative ease of the process, eligible retirees/prospective retirees are expected to enrol within the stipulated timeline as advised by PenCom.
