A total of 30,973 RSA holders switched their pension fund administrators in the third quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 109% compared to the 14,821 holders that switched in the previous quarter.
This information is contained in the quarterly summary of retirement savings accounts transferred by PFAs in Nigeria for the third quarter.
The number of RSA transfers processed in Q3 2022 is the highest quarterly number recorded since the opening of the transfer window in November 2020. Total transfers have hit 109,522 since inception.
Number breakdown: In the fourth quarter of 2020 when the RSA transfer window was opened, 2,799 RSA holders transferred their accounts to a preferred administrator. The number rose in the next quarter to 12,681 accounts and has remained elevated since then, hitting a record number in Q3 2022.
- The increase in the number of RSA transfers is a testament to the growing competition in the pension industry as PFAs are motivated to best themselves by printing impressive ROIs and improving their consumer experience to ensure customer retention.
- The number of registered PFAs has also reduced from 22 to 20. The reduction was due to a few mergers and acquisitions as the PFAs tried to meet the required minimum regulatory capital of N5 billion which was increased from N1 billion by the Nigerian Pension Commission.
- Meanwhile, the total number of RSA registrations in the country stood at 9.792 million, representing a reduction of 3,471 in Q3 2022 compared to 9.795 million recorded as of June 2022. In terms of the first nine months of the year, RSA registrations increased by 263,359.
- On the other hand, the total pension fund gained N156.74 billion in Q3 2022 to stand at N14.42 trillion as of September 2022. The Fund II category still accounted for the highest at N6.29 trillion, having gained N55.22 billion in the third quarter.
Best-performing PFAs in Q3 2022: According to an analysis by Nairametrics on the best-performing pension fund administrators in Nigeria for the third quarter of the year, First Guarantee Pension led the pack with an average ROI of 2.38% in the review period.
- Premium Pensions followed in second place with a return of 2.06%, while Veritas Glanvills Pensions came third with an average return on investment of 2.01%.
- However, the entire industry printed a 1.55% average return in the period under review, after they had posted 5.02% in returns in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the bearish sentiment in the Nigerian equities market in Q3 2022 affected the returns of the PFAs.
What you should know about the transfer window
Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, states that a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Holder may transfer his RSA from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another. It also specifies that such transfer should not be more than once a year.
- According to the regulations guiding the transfer of RSA accounts obtained from the National Pension Commission, RSA transfers shall be carried out quarterly from the first quarter to the last quarter of the year.
- Transfer requests shall be processed based on their Effective Transfer Dates (ETDs), which shall be the last day of the last month of each Transfer Quarter namely, 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.
- RSA Transfer requests received in the first two months of a Transfer Quarter shall be assigned the ETD of the current Transfer Quarter, while requests received in the third month of a Transfer Quarter shall be assigned the ETD of the next Transfer Quarter.
- An RSA Holder will be eligible for a subsequent RSA transfer after 365 days from the date of his/her last approved RSA transfer, irrespective of whether it is a leap year or not.
