The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said that its digital Pension Industry Shared Services (PISS) initiative has reached advanced stages of implementation.

Director General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran who disclosed this in Lagos during 2024 PenCom conference for Journalists said this initiative will digitize pension contributions and remittances, ensuring seamless processing of contributions and resolving discrepancies caused by incomplete remittance details.

She said as part of measures to further enhance contributors’ experiences, the commission has introduced a revised programme withdrawal template, simplifying access to voluntary contributions and revising the threshold for en-bloc payments in line with the new minimum wage. 

She stated that the Commission has achieved a major milestone with the launch of the e-Application Portal for Pension Clearance Certificates (PCC) in October. 

This initiative, according to her, replaces the previous manual process, enabling companies to seamlessly apply for and receive PCCs online. 

She, however, said that since its deployment, the Commission has issued over 38,000 PCCs, significantly enhancing ease of doing business and ensuring compliance.

She said with transformation in Technology, we have over 10.5 million contributors and total oversee pension assets stood at an access of N21.9 trillion as at October, demonstrating

 the strength of our contributory pension system.

On the other hand, she said despite the growth of the sector it still faced a lot of challenges, noting that inflation for instance  has continued to  erode the purchasing power of pensioners, and the Commission  is actively seeking innovative solutions to address this issue.

She said the commission also   faces the persistent issue of delays in the payment of accrued rights, adding that  recently, N44 billion  was approved under the 2024 budget appropriation to settle accrued pension rights for retirees from March to September 2023. 

She said PenCom is working with the Federal Government to put in place a sustainable solution that ensures retirees receive their benefits promptly and without undue stress.

Stating the benefits of technology, she said, “As we integrate technology across every aspect of the pension industry—ranging from data and identity management to seamless contributions, investment oversight, regulatory supervision, and service delivery—we are paving the way for a future where the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) becomes more accessible, reliable, and sustainable.