You accept a new job, hand in your resignation letter, and in the rush of handover nobody mentions your pension. Three months later you notice your new employer's HR is asking for an RSA PIN you can't find. Or worse, you never check, and a few months of contributions go missing.
This guide is the checklist for that moment. It covers what stays the same when you change jobs, what you must do in the first month, and how to spot a gap before it becomes years of lost savings. It assumes you are an employee in the formal sector. If you work for yourself, read our pension plan for traders and freelancers instead.
The one idea to hold onto: your RSA belongs to you, not your employer
Your Retirement Savings Account (RSA) is tied to you personally. When you leave a company, the account does not close and your savings do not move to your old employer or reset to zero. Your new employer is supposed to pay contributions into the same RSA, using the same PIN.
That means changing jobs is mostly an admin task: tell the new employer which PFA (Pension Fund Administrator) holds your account and give them your RSA PIN. If you need a refresher on the account itself, see our guide to RSA basics and yearly checks.
Do not open a second RSA just because the new company prefers a different PFA. Duplicate accounts split your records, confuse contribution tracking and can cause trouble when you eventually claim benefits. If you want a different PFA, that is a transfer of your existing account, not a new one.
Before you leave: a 30-minute exit checklist
Do these while you still have access to your old HR and payroll contacts. They get harder after your last day.
- Get your latest RSA statement. Log in to your PFA's portal or app, or request it by email. Save it as a PDF.
- Compare it with your payslips. Every month you were paid should have a matching pension credit. Mark any month that is missing or late.
- Ask HR to confirm the last remittance. Ask in writing (email is fine): "Please confirm the month up to which my pension has been remitted and the date of the final remittance."
- Ask how your final-month salary and any owed pay will be treated. If you are paid out leave or arrears, ask whether pension is deducted and remitted on it.
- Save your RSA PIN and PFA contact details in your phone notes and email, not only in an old work inbox.
If you are also weighing the new offer, our list of questions to ask before accepting a job offer includes pension and benefits questions worth raising before you sign.
In your first month at the new job
Give HR the right information
Send HR your full name as it appears on your RSA, your RSA PIN, and the name of your PFA. Do it by email so there is a record. Ask them to confirm the date your first remittance will be made.
Check that contributions actually arrive
Do not assume. After your first and second salary, log in to your PFA account and look for the credits. Employers are expected to remit within a set period after the salary month, so a small delay is normal, but nothing after two or three months is a red flag. Check the current remittance deadline on the PenCom website (pencom.gov.ng) rather than relying on hearsay.
Confirm your contribution rates
The Pension Reform Act sets minimum contribution rates for employee and employer, and some employers pay more. Your payslip should show your deduction. Verify the current minimums on PenCom's site, then check that what your employer deducts and remits matches. Some employers structure pay so that the pension base is only part of your salary (for example basic, housing and transport). Ask which components count, because it changes how much goes into your RSA.
A worked example (hypothetical)
Say Ada earns ₦400,000 a month at Company A and moves to Company B at ₦550,000. Suppose, purely for illustration, that her pension base is 60% of gross pay at both places and the combined employee and employer contribution is 18% of that base.
- Company A: ₦400,000 × 60% = ₦240,000 base. 18% = ₦43,200 a month into her RSA.
- Company B: ₦550,000 × 60% = ₦330,000 base. 18% = ₦59,400 a month.
Now suppose Company B's HR never receives her PIN and remits nothing for four months. That is 4 × ₦59,400 = ₦237,600 not in her account, plus whatever growth it would have earned. If she notices in month five and sends her PIN, a good employer will back-pay. If she notices in year three, the trail is much harder to follow. The ten minutes spent checking the first statement is the whole defence.
These numbers are only an illustration. Your base and rates will differ, so use your own payslip.
Should you switch PFA when you change jobs?
Not automatically. Your new employer may suggest a PFA, but you generally keep the choice of where your RSA sits. Switch only if you have a real reason, and compare before you do.
| Reason to stay | Reason to consider switching |
|---|---|
| Your PFA's portal and customer service work well | Statements are late, wrong or impossible to get |
| Your fund returns are in line with others over several years | Returns in your fund type have lagged others consistently, not just for one year |
| Your records are clean and complete | Complaints go unanswered and you have evidence of it |
When comparing, look at multi-year returns for the same fund type (for example the fund for your age group), not a single year's headline number. PenCom publishes information on PFAs and the rules for transfers, including how often you can move. Check the current process there before applying, and do the transfer through the official channel, never through an agent who asks for your login details or a fee.
Gaps, old accounts and the "I can't remember my PIN" problem
Many people reach their second or third job and realise they cannot find their first RSA. Here is how to recover it.
- Look through old emails, payslips and your offer letter for a PIN starting with "PEN".
- Ask your old employer's HR which PFA they used.
- Contact the PFA's customer service with your full name, date of birth, phone number, and a valid ID. Expect to be asked to verify your identity. Use only the official contact details from the PFA's own website.
- If you suspect you hold more than one RSA, contact PenCom through its official channels and ask how duplicate accounts are merged. Do not simply ignore the extra one.
Have a gap period between jobs? No contributions are due while you are unemployed, so a gap is not an error. The risk is a gap that should not exist, so check that contributions stop the month you left and restart the month you began.
Common mistakes
- Opening a new RSA at each job. One person, one RSA.
- Trusting HR without verifying. Check your PFA statement, not your payslip alone. A payslip shows a deduction; the statement shows what arrived.
- Letting your contact details go stale. Statements and alerts go to the phone number and email on file. Update them when you change numbers or emails.
- Withdrawing or "cashing out" early through someone who promises a shortcut. Access rules are set by law and PenCom. Anyone offering to speed things up for a fee is a risk to your savings.
- Forgetting to check annually. Put a reminder in your calendar for the same month each year.
How this changes by situation
- Moving to a company that does not remit properly: keep your own record of payslips and statements. If contributions are missing, write to HR first, then to your PFA, then to PenCom with your evidence.
- Moving to self-employment or a remote job paid in dollars: contributions will not happen automatically. You can still contribute voluntarily to your existing RSA, and our freelancer pension plan shows how to set that up in a routine.
- Relocating abroad: keep your RSA, PIN and PFA login active. Rules for what you can do from abroad differ, so confirm with your PFA before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Does my old employer still hold my pension?
No. Your savings sit with your PFA and a custodian in your RSA, not with your employer. Your old employer only owes you any contributions that were deducted or due and not yet remitted.
Will my balance reset when I change jobs?
No. Your balance carries on in the same RSA. New contributions simply add to it.
What if my new employer says they only work with one PFA?
Ask them how they handle employees who already have an RSA elsewhere. The usual route is that you give your existing PIN and PFA. If HR resists, point them to PenCom's guidance on its website and ask for the policy in writing.
How often should I check my statement?
Quarterly is a good habit, and always after any job change. At minimum, do one full review each year.
Your next step
Today, log in to your PFA account and download your latest statement. Match the last six months of credits to your payslips. If one month is missing, email HR this week, not next quarter.
This article is for general information only and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Prices, rates and rules change quickly, so check current details before making money decisions.