Industry experts, regulators, and corporate finance leaders declared that quiet digital revolution has finally broken the long-running bottlenecks plaguing the contributory pension scheme.\n<\/p>\n
They made this observation at the 15th Annual Stakeholders\u2019 Forum hosted by CrusaderSterling Pensions in Lagos.\n<\/p>\n
Centred on the theme \u201cPensions for All: Driving Inclusion and Innovation for Quality Retirement,\u201d the forum highlighted how the recent deployment of automated validation systems has permanently altered the country\u2019s retirement landscape.\n<\/p>\n
For years, the nightmare of the \u201changing remittance\u201d loomed large over Nigeria\u2019s pension system, leaving billions of naira trapped in suspense accounts due to minor data errors.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the annual forum, the Executive Director of Operations at CrusaderSterling Pensions, Funmilola Oluwajoba, said, \u201cBefore the introduction of Pension Payment Solution Service Provider software, employers would make remittances but send schedules with incomplete information.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cConsequently, we were unable to credit those monies into the accounts of the relevant stakeholders. If an employer paid for 15 people but 10 did not have a PIN, the money for those 10 individuals would hang.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The introduction of specialised automated validation software has successfully rewritten this script by embedding real-time validation directly into the payment gateway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the introduction of PSSPs, the software automatically validates the contributor\u2019s PIN with the Pension Fund Administrator before allowing the remittance,\u201d Oluwajoba added, noting that this simple algorithmic handshake has finally closed the loop on unallocated funds.\n<\/p>\n
The National Pension Commission has actively backed this digital drive by implementing strict compliance rules and automated oversight tools, shifting the regulatory focus entirely towards transparency and speed.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s panel discussion focused on transparency, specifically, what PenCom is doing to ensure a transparent industry,\u201d a Principal Manager with PenCom\u2019s South-West Zonal Office, Sarah Joseph, said during a panel discussion.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe covered various issues, from contribution remittances to accountability, and the remittance system PenCom has put in place,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
To ensure compliance, PenCom has automated the application process for the Pension Clearance Certificate and introduced strict financial penalties that directly benefit the employees rather than the government.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe application process for the Pension Clearance Certificate has been fully automated through an electronic platform. This has successfully ensured compliance; late remittances incur a two per cent penalty, and all those penalty benefits go directly into the retirement savings accounts of the beneficiaries,\u201d Joseph added.\n<\/p>\n
Beyond solving the issue of hanging remittances, the devolution of authority from the central regulator to individual PFAs has dramatically shortened the waiting time for retirees seeking to access their life savings.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenefit applications no longer go to PenCom; they are handled directly by the PFA,\u201d Oluwajoba noted.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPenCom has given PFAs a maximum turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours. If we receive a complete document at 8am on Monday, we must complete the computation and send it to the Pension Fund Custodian by the close of business on Tuesday. If your documentation is complete, you should be credited by Wednesday evening at the latest,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n
This seamless combination of technological intervention and high investment yields has restored deep institutional confidence among corporate stakeholders.\n<\/p>\n
The Head of Finance at Still Earth Holdings, Rotimi Odeyemi, said, \u201cWe are now in the technology area.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to see a kind of handshake between the regulator and the PFA. We expect that kind of technology to be at the forefront so that whatever benefit we can get outside the country is available. Once you log in, you want to get all the necessary information, log your ticket, and see it resolved.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Endorsing the platform\u2019s forward-thinking approach, the Director of Administration for the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Omolola Fakeye, concluded that the industry\u2019s survival relies entirely on continuous digital adaptation.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey possess foresight and a high level of professionalism,\u201d Fakeye said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do not wait for the industry to catch up to them; instead, they think outside the box, innovate ahead of the curve, and let others follow. Because of their proactive vision, their investment returns have been excellent,\u201d she added.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Industry experts, regulators, and corporate finance leaders declared that quiet digital revolution has finally broken the long-running bottlenecks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[225966,72,225967,56927,3937,176,25219,61,60,21913,223003,146491,18938,128396,61985,174,175,155227,1611,1544,80],"class_list":["post-530851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-automated-systems","tag-business","tag-crusadersterling-pensions","tag-digital-revolution","tag-digital-transformation","tag-finance","tag-financial-inclusion","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nigeria","tag-nigeria-pensions","tag-pencom","tag-pension-fund-administrators","tag-pension-reform","tag-pension-scheme","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-pfas","tag-retirement","tag-retirement-planning","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}