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The short answer
Yes, your Retirement Savings Account carries on. PenCom's September 2025 foreign-currency guidelines say an existing RSA holder who moves abroad keeps the RSA by updating their documentation with the PFA, and the Pension Reform Act sets a minimum of 10% from the employer and 8% from the employee on monthly emoluments, remitted within seven working days of salary payment. Nothing we read from PenCom switches that off because you work from outside Nigeria, so check your statement to confirm it is still being paid.
Many Nigerians now relocate and keep working for the company they left behind, either on the same payroll or on a new remote contract. The pension question usually comes up months later, when someone opens their PFA app and sees that nothing has arrived since the move. This guide sets out what the rules say, the questions that decide your position, and what you can do yourself, including the dollar contribution route PenCom introduced in 2025.
What the Pension Reform Act requires of your employer
Nigeria's Contributory Pension Scheme is run under the Pension Reform Act 2014 and supervised by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). PenCom's 2023 FAQ sets out the core rules:
- Who is covered: all tiers of government and private organisations with three or more employees. People in smaller firms and the self-employed can join through the Micro Pension Plan.
- How much: at least 10% of monthly emoluments from the employer and 8% from the employee, 18% in total. An employer may choose to bear the whole contribution.
- When: the employer remits both shares to the custodian named by your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) within seven working days of paying salary.
- If it is late: PenCom's recovery framework quotes the Act's penalty of not less than 2% of the unpaid contributions for each month of default, and PenCom invites employees to report non-remittance to it in confidence.
The Act and the FAQ describe the obligation in terms of the employment relationship, not the employee's street address. None of the PenCom pages we read exempts a staff member because they work from Lagos one year and from Leeds the next. If you remain an employee of the Nigerian company, on its payroll and paid salary by it, the safest reading is that the deductions and remittances should continue. If your employer believes otherwise, ask for the reason in writing and put the question to your PFA or to PenCom.
Three situations that change the answer
1. Same job, same payroll, now remote
This is the clearest case. Your payslip should still show the 8% employee deduction and the company should still be remitting its share. If your payslip shows the deduction but your RSA statement shows no matching credit, that gap is the employer's problem to fix, and the late-payment penalty applies to it.
2. You resigned and now work as a contractor
If you left employment and now invoice the same company as an independent consultant, you are no longer an employee and the company has no pension deduction to make from a consulting fee. Your RSA stays open and keeps its balance, but nothing new goes in unless you contribute yourself. The fee may instead have withholding tax deducted, which we cover in withholding tax on foreign freelancers.
3. You moved to an overseas entity of the group
If a sister company abroad now employs you and pays you, the Nigerian company is not your employer for that period. The country you work in will usually have its own social security or pension rules, set by its own authorities; check those with the official body where you live.
Keeping the RSA alive from abroad
PenCom's Guidelines on Foreign Currency Pension Contributions (September 2025) say an existing RSA holder who moves abroad keeps the account by updating their documentation with the PFA. In practice that means making sure your PFA has a current phone number, email and address, because PIN resets, statements and benefit applications all go to those details. PenCom's FAQ also notes that RSA holders registered before July 2019 had to complete data recapture; without it, access to benefits and transfers is blocked, and the FAQ says recapture cannot be done by proxy.
The new dollar contribution option
The 2025 guidelines created a voluntary route for Nigerians living or working abroad to contribute in US dollars into a Foreign Currency Dollar Fund. The main points as the guidelines state them:
- Contributions are in USD only and voluntary; you choose daily, weekly or monthly.
- You need your NIN, international passport and next-of-kin details; biometrics are matched against NIBSS and NIMC records, and BVN and NIN are both required.
- Diaspora contributors send money from a Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account to the PFA's foreign-currency collection account at its custodian, quoting the RSA PIN on each transfer. The collecting bank may not charge fees.
- Each contribution is split 60% contingent and 40% retirement. Temporary access is allowed at most twice a year, after six months.
- Benefits start from age 50 or on health grounds and are paid in dollars, or in naira on request.
The guidelines also repeat that contributions are not taxable under section 10 of the Act, but income on voluntary contributions becomes taxable if withdrawn within five years. Because the rules for the account you send from are specific, read our note on the Nigerian RSA system and ask your PFA which collection account details to use before sending anything.
A worked example
Example only: you earn monthly emoluments of ₦1,000,000 from a Nigerian employer while living abroad.
| Item | Minimum share | Monthly amount (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Employer contribution | 10% | ₦100,000 |
| Employee contribution (deducted from pay) | 8% | ₦80,000 |
| Total into your RSA | 18% | ₦180,000 |
Over 12 months that is ₦2,160,000 that should appear on your statement. If six months are missing, the employer owes ₦1,080,000 plus the penalty the Act provides.
What to check first
- Download your latest RSA statement and match each credit to a payslip month.
- Confirm your PFA holds your current foreign contact details and that data recapture is done.
- If credits stopped after you moved, email HR asking whether remittances continue and why not if they stopped.
- If the answer is unsatisfactory, report it to your PFA and then to PenCom.
- If you want to add dollars, ask your PFA for its Foreign Currency Dollar Fund onboarding steps.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Personal Account can be opened from any country and holds naira, dollars, pounds and euros side by side, so a salary paid in naira and savings held in dollars sit in one place. Verifiable statements through VerifyDoc.ai give you a record of salary credits to compare against your RSA statement. See multicurrency accounts and how it works.
Questions people ask
Does my RSA close when I relocate abroad?
No. PenCom's 2025 foreign-currency guidelines say an existing RSA holder who moves abroad keeps the RSA by updating documentation with the PFA.
Should my Nigerian employer keep paying pension if I work remotely from the UK or Canada?
If you are still its employee on its payroll, nothing in the PenCom pages we read exempts you because of where you work. Ask HR in writing and check your statement.
Can I pay into my RSA in dollars from abroad?
Yes, through the voluntary Foreign Currency Dollar Fund created by PenCom's September 2025 guidelines, using USD sent from a Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account.
What happens if my employer stopped remitting?
The Act provides a penalty of at least 2% of unpaid contributions per month of default. You can report non-remittance to your PFA and to PenCom.
Sources
- PenCom: Frequently Asked Questions (2023 edition) · accessed Oct 2026
- PenCom: Guidelines on Foreign Currency Pension Contributions (Sep 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- PenCom: Framework for recovery of outstanding pension contributions and penalty from defaulting employers · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.