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The short answer
Your Retirement Savings Account stays with your Pension Fund Administrator and keeps being invested when you move to Ghana. PenCom's 2025 foreign currency guidelines say an RSA holder who relocates abroad can retain the RSA by updating it with their NIN, a valid international passport and next-of-kin details. Moving abroad is not itself a ground for cashing out; the main early-access route, 25% of the balance, applies to those out of work for at least four months.
Your RSA does not close
A Nigerian RSA belongs to you, not to your employer, and the balance stays invested by your PFA whether or not anyone is still paying in. Leaving Nigeria does not change that. PenCom's Guidelines on Foreign Currency Pension Contributions (September 2025) state at section 5.1(k) that a holder who relocates abroad "can retain his RSA subject to updating his RSA with the documentation requirement" set out in the guidelines: NIN, a valid international passport, and next-of-kin and beneficiary details.
Can I take my pension out because I moved?
We found no PenCom rule that lets a Nigerian citizen withdraw an RSA because they emigrated. The 2025 guidelines do not mention a relocation cash-out for citizens. What the Pension Reform Act 2014 does provide is limited early access:
| Route | Condition, as stated | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25% of the RSA balance | Leaving or losing a job before 50 and not getting another within four months | PRA 2014 (PwC summary); TrustFund Pensions says once in a lifetime |
| Retirement benefits | Retirement under your terms of employment or age 50, whichever is later, or earlier on health grounds with medical certification | TrustFund Pensions |
Voluntary contributions and the mortgage-equity option have their own rules; see voluntary contribution withdrawals and using 25% of an RSA for a mortgage.
Whether a new job in Ghana counts as getting "another job" for the 25% rule is a question for your PFA, which applies the rule. Ask it in writing, with your circumstances, before you count on the money.
Update the account, or you may lose access later
- Data recapture. RSAs opened before 1 July 2019 must be recaptured before a transfer or benefit. Vanguard reported in March 2026 that PenCom's online self-service platform, launched on 1 February 2026, lets holders do it from a device with a camera, using their RSA PIN, NIN and email.
- Contact details. Give your PFA a working email and a phone number you can reach in Ghana.
- Passport and NIN. Keep a valid passport on file; the 2025 guidelines list it.
- Next of kin and beneficiaries, with their current addresses.
If you have lost your PIN or are unsure which PFA holds your account, contact PenCom or the PFA you last used before you leave, while you can still visit an office.
A worked example of the 25% rule
Example only: Chidi had ₦4,000,000 in his RSA when he resigned in Lagos. He did not start a new job for five months. Under the rule as PwC summarises it, he could ask his PFA for up to 25%, ₦1,000,000, leaving ₦3,000,000 invested until retirement. TrustFund Pensions describes this access as once in a lifetime, so taking it now rules it out later. If Chidi had moved straight into a job in Accra, whether he qualified would turn on his PFA's reading of "another job". The PFA decides; get its answer in writing.
Keeping an eye on the account from Accra
- Ask your PFA for statements by email, at least once a year.
- Check that any old employer remitted everything it deducted from your salary before you left.
- Note which fund your money is in; holders under 50 are usually in the default fund unless they chose otherwise.
- Plan how benefits will reach you at retirement; see RSA benefits paid abroad.
Can I keep contributing from Ghana?
Yes, in two ways. You can make voluntary contributions to your existing RSA. And the 2025 guidelines created a foreign currency RSA for Nigerians living and working abroad, in US dollars:
- Funding
- From a Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account to your PFA's foreign currency collection account, quoting your PIN
- Split
- 60% contingent, 40% retirement
- Access
- Minimum six months before any withdrawal; temporary access at most twice a year
- Benefits
- From age 50 or on health grounds, paid in dollars, or naira on request
- Fees
- 1.20% management, 0.35% custody and 0.15% regulatory, 1.70% in total (PenCom circular, March 2026)
The step-by-step is in paying into a Nigerian pension from Ghana.
If you move back to Nigeria
The same RSA and PIN carry on. A new Nigerian employer remits into it, and you give the employer your PIN rather than opening a second account; PenCom allows one RSA per person. Update your address and phone number with the PFA when you return, as you did when you left.
Changing PFA and Ghana's own pension
PenCom's FAQ says you may move your RSA to another PFA once every 365 days; see changing PFA from Ghana. Separately, if you work in Ghana your employer must enrol you in Ghana's own system, explained in SSNIT and Ghana's three tiers. The two do not merge. This is information, not financial advice.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme account holds naira and dollars with account details for each, which is useful if you later receive pension benefits in either currency. Check with your PFA which accounts it will pay into.
Questions people ask
Can I withdraw my RSA if I relocate abroad?
We found no PenCom rule allowing Nigerian citizens to cash out on emigration. The RSA stays invested, with early access only on the routes the law sets out.
What is the 25% RSA withdrawal rule?
Under the Pension Reform Act 2014, someone who leaves a job before 50 and has no new job within four months may withdraw up to 25% of the RSA balance.
Do I need to update my RSA after moving to Ghana?
Yes. PenCom's 2025 guidelines tie keeping the RSA to updating it with your NIN, valid passport and next-of-kin details.
Can I contribute to my RSA from Ghana?
Yes, by voluntary contributions or a dollar RSA under PenCom's 2025 foreign currency guidelines.
Sources
- PenCom: Guidelines on Foreign Currency Pension Contributions (Sep 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Nigeria Tax Bites: Pension Reform Act 2014 (Jul 2014) · accessed Oct 2026
- TrustFund Pensions: Benefit payment types · accessed Oct 2026
- Vanguard: Veritas Pension commends PenCom's self-service platform for RSA data recapture (22 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- PenCom: Frequently asked questions (2023) · accessed Oct 2026
- PenCom circular PENCOM/TECH/ISD/2026/21: fees for Fund V, Fund VII and APAs (5 Mar 2026) · 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.