The National Pension Commission (PenCom) announced on Tuesday that it would soon begin digital verification and enrolment of prospective retirees in the South-South.

Anyim Nyerere, a top official of the Commission, made this known at the end of a two-day training of 60 Pension Desk Officers (PDOs) in Port Harcourt.

Mr Nyerere said that the verification and enrolment would begin after the pension desk officers had been adequately trained on the operation of the Online Enrolment Application (OEA).

“In all, this exercise will equip them [pension desk officers] with the requisite knowledge on how the Retiree Registration Module (RRM) operates for the smooth implementation of the OEA,” he said.

Mr Nyerere said that PenCom had developed an online enrolment application that had capabilities to register, verify and enrol workers due to retire from service between January and December, 2021.

He further explained that the application was also equipped with a guidance note that would help compute the retirees’ benefits.

The commissioner attributed the adoption of digital verification for employees under the federal government treasury-funded MDAs to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“PenCom regrets its inability to conduct physical annual pre-retirement enrolment due to the need to observe necessary safety measures as directed by the government.

“The commission decided to conduct this exercise so as not to affect the validation and determination of the accrued pension liabilities of future retirees for government budgetary purposes.

“So, the online platform allows future retirees to log on to the website and register with their details on the RRM,” he added.

Mr Nyerere urged the desk officers to comply strictly with the provisions of the guidance notes on the forthcoming nationwide pre-retirement verification and enrolment. 

(NAN)