Service Overview
ESA Occupational Pension Scheme (Tier 2)
3.1. ESA Pension Scheme (Mandatory Tier 2) | |
Objective | It is a Defined Contribution (DC), Master-Trust Scheme designed to offer institutions an economically efficient pension fund portfolio for managing their employees’ tier two contributions. The Scheme is registered by the NPRA. The Tier two schemes was setup to provide gratuity payments previously provided by SSNIT. |
Contributions: | Employers are required to remit 5% out of the mandatory pension deduction of 18.5% to approved Tier 2 schemes, including the ESA Pension Scheme. |
Investment Options | There are three products (investment plans) designed to accommodate varied investment needs of participants. Contributions are applied for investments either by a lifecycle approach or by a self-managed plan subject to the approval of the employer. |
Portability | Participants can transfer their benefits to and from the scheme whenever they change jobs. At the election of a participant, benefits can also be preserved in the scheme, though one may change jobs. |
Flexibility
| Participants can redesign their investment plan every five years to reflect their changing situation. This is done automatically for participants on the default lifecycle option. |
Benefits | The scheme pays full benefits by lump sum to the participants at retirement. The nominated beneficiaries of deceased participants shall also be paid full benefits within 31 working days of filing claims. |
How to Join | Because the ESA Pension scheme is a mandatory occupational scheme, employers enroll on behalf of their workers. Interested organizations are required to complete participation forms and agreement to begin contributing to the scheme. |
