We’ve supported over 1,000 RSA holders with mortgage equity – Access ARM

Afolabi Folayan is the Executive Director, Technical, at Access ARM Pensions. In this interview, he discusses the mortgage financing of the PFA as well as its operations to drive financial inclusion in the country.

With the implementation of residential mortgage access from RSAs, how is your team ensuring a seamless process for contributors as well as equity mobilization?

The operationalisation of the Pension Reform Act 2014 provision allowing contributors to access up to 25% of their RSA balance for residential mortgage equity has been one of the most impactful reforms in recent years. Since the initiative launched, we have supported over 1,000 contributors on their journey to homeownership.

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Given the high demand, we swiftly established a dedicated mortgage desk as a one-stop hub to coordinate end-to-end processing—covering eligibility checks, benefit calculations, documentation, regulatory approvals, and disbursements to primary mortgage institutions (PMIs). While uptake has been strong, a key operational challenge has been coordinating with PMIs on timely submission of pre and post-approval documentation. To address this, we’ve adopted a proactive, agile engagement model—streamlining workflows and fostering real-time collaboration to shorten turnaround times and ensure a seamless contributor experience.

At Access ARM Pensions, the Operations Directorate serves as the engine room of the organization, ensuring that people, processes, and systems run seamlessly to deliver a superior client experience. I oversee all core operational functions including contribution processing, benefits payments, fund accounting, finance, human resources, and information technology.

In simple terms, we ensure that pension contributions are received and processed promptly, investments are accurately accounted for at both fund and individual levels, and retirement benefits are paid efficiently and without delay. Supporting these activities, our finance, HR, and IT teams work cohesively to drive operational excellence, enhance service delivery, and support the broader strategic goals of the business.

Operational efficiency is crucial amid macroeconomic headwinds. How is Access ARM Pensions adapting its systems and workflow to maintain efficiency despite inflation, FX volatility, and interest rate changes?

In a high inflation environment such as we are facing currently in the country, keeping the cost of business operations down is important to be able to serve customers efficiently and return value to shareholders. At Access ARM Pensions, we have adopted a multi-pronged strategy to strengthen resilience and ensure seamless service delivery across all customer touchpoints.

Firstly, we have accelerated investments in automation, streamlining critical processes such as contribution reconciliation, benefit payments, and fund reporting. This has significantly improved speed, accuracy, and transparency across workflows, enabling faster decision-making and more proactive issue resolution. Secondly, we are actively optimizing our vendor relationships to reduce currency exposure.

Where possible, we are shifting toward local procurement, engaging domestic service providers and tech vendors to minimize reliance on FX-denominated contracts and support the Nigerian enterprise ecosystem. Lastly, we continue to leverage the broader Access ecosystem to drive shared value, particularly in vendor management and IT infrastructure.

This collaboration enhances cost efficiency while maintaining the high service standards our clients expect.

What mechanisms have you put in place to improve customer engagement and prompt resolution of issues?

At Access ARM Pensions, we understand that trust and transparency are at the heart of pension administration. Our core values—excellence and service—guide every aspect of our operations. As a customer-centric organization, we’ve built our operating model around delivering the best possible client experience, from contribution processing to benefits payment.

To uphold this, we’ve invested in a robust omni-channel strategy that allows clients to reach us through eight distinct service and complaint resolution channels, some available 24/7. This is complemented by our extensive physical presence through branches and service centres nationwide, ensuring accessibility regardless of location.

Digitally, our upgraded mobile app, WhatsApp and other platforms provide real-time access to account details and fund performance. Meanwhile, our enhanced contact centre, supported by trained agents and improved ticketing systems, ensures fast and responsive issue resolution. We also drive proactive communication through alerts, regulatory updates, and education delivered via email, and app notifications.

Together, these measures reinforce our commitment to transparency, accessibility, and service excellence across every customer touchpoint.

As the industry leans more into infrastructure and alternative investments, how is your operations team evolving to support new asset classes from a compliance, monitoring, and reporting standpoint?

As you may know, beyond our core mandate of pension administration, we are also highly skilled and experienced investment managers.

With the industry’s growing shift toward more sophisticated asset classes, such as infrastructure, we have strengthened our internal frameworks to support this evolution. This includes enhanced due diligence processes, seamless onboarding of new instruments, and robust valuation protocols, all of which are critical to maintaining compliance, transparency, and long-term performance.

We’ve also upgraded our reporting infrastructure to accommodate the unique lifecycle and risk profiles of these assets, ensuring timely and detailed performance reporting to both regulators and contributors.

Our compliance and fund accounting units work closely with investment teams to track adherence to guidelines while adapting control processes to fit non-traditional structures such as project finance vehicles or private equity partnerships. We welcome the new developments and can see how this will enhance investment returns on our portfolios and we are well prepared for it.

Given the erosion of value caused by inflation, how is your operations unit working to ensure that contributors receive real-time insights into how their retirement savings are performing?

Inflation is often described as the cruelest tax and understandably so, as it silently erodes purchasing power over time. From an operational standpoint, our role is to ensure contributors have timely, transparent insights into the performance of their retirement savings so they can make informed decisions in response to macroeconomic realities.

At Access ARM Pensions, we provide real-time visibility through our digital platforms, allowing clients to view their balances, portfolio performance, and transaction history with ease. In addition to this, we publish monthly newsletters that detail fund performance and the asset allocation strategies across various RSA Fund types.

This transparency enables contributors to assess how their savings are positioned against inflationary pressures. We also emphasize investment education, empowering clients to adjust their strategy based on age and risk tolerance—whether that’s moving to a more aggressive fund or increasing their Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) to boost long-term value.

Looking ahead, what are your top operational priorities for Access ARM Pensions over the next 12 to 18 months—from automation and client service to risk management and regulatory alignment?

Over the next 12 to 18 months, our operational priorities at Access ARM Pensions are focused on deepening efficiency, strengthening compliance, and expanding access, particularly with regard to automation, contributor engagement, and support for informal sector growth.

We are excited about the implementation of self-approval for benefit payments, a significant regulatory shift that will reduce turnaround time and enhance customer satisfaction. Similarly, the approval of Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs) for pension remittances marks a step-change in how contributions are collected—improving speed, accuracy, and transparency for both employers and contributors.

In response, our goal is to implement straight-through processing across key workflows such as remittances, benefit disbursements, and customer onboarding. This will ensure seamless execution, minimize manual intervention, and support real-time reporting.

We also recognize the strategic importance of the informal sector and are gearing up operationally to support the expected expansion in micro-pension participation. This includes retooling our systems, client onboarding journeys, and reporting frameworks to cater to this emerging segment. Altogether, these initiatives reflect our commitment to delivering a high-performing, technology-driven, and contributor-focused pension experience.