Uche Usim, Abuja
Nigerians living overseas now have the opportunity to be part of Contributory Pensions Scheme (CPS) with the launch of the Enhanced Contributor Registration system (ECRS) of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
The commission made the disclosure in a statement on Friday.
According to PenCom, the ECRS has been integrated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for authentication of the uniqueness of individuals seeking to register under the CPS.
It said: “The ECRS is an electronic platform for the submission of requests by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) for the registration of contributors and issuance of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs). Consequently the commission has transited from the use of the existing Contributor Registration System (CRS) to the ECRS.
“The ECRS provides a more dynamic and friendly user interface and fully addresses the issues identified with the CRS. The deployment of the ECRS will greatly enhance the integrity of contributors’ data and also provide a platform for the following:
“Registration of Micro Pension Plan Participants and Cross Border individuals (i.e. participants living abroad and foreigners living in Nigeria wishing to participate in the CPS).
“Electronic submission of employer code requests by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) on employers and the full automation of the process of issuing employer codes.
“Updates and edits of contributors’ information on the National Databank maintained by the National Pension Commission by the PFAs. The deployment of the ECRS is a major step towards the introduction of the transfer window, which will enable contributors change to the PFAs of their choice, in line with Section 13 of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014,” PenCom explained.
