Director General PenCom Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) plays a crucial role in ensuring the timely remittance of pension contributions and imposing penalties on defaulting employers. From the inception of the recovery initiative in June 2012 through September 30, 2023, PenCom has successfully recovered N25.13 billion from defaulting employers. This sum is comprised N12.80 billion, principal contributions, and N12.33 billion, penalties for delayed payments
PenCom’s relentless drive to enforce pension contribution compliance has led to the recovery of an impressive N25.13 billion from non-compliant employers, spanning from June 2012 to September 30, 2023. This substantial sum comprises N12.80 billion in principal contributions and N12.33 billion in penalties for delayed payments.
The PenCom initiative, guided by the Pension Reform Act of 2014, mandates eligible employees to maintain Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) with their chosen Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). Employers are required to deduct and remit these contributions promptly, and the failure to do so results in penalties. Employers who default face a penalty of not less than 2 percent of the unpaid contributions for each month, as specified in the PRA 2014.
The Commission’s recovery journey began with the appointment of Recovery Agents (RAs) in June 2012, and today, 28 RAs operate under PenCom’s supervision. The initiative’s objectives are multi-faceted, aiming to recover unremitted pension contributions and penalties, protect employees from income losses due to investment delays, enhance compliance with the PRA 2014, and reduce employee complaints, thereby building trust in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Under this initiative, Recovery Agents work diligently to secure cooperation from defaulting employers. They obtain delinquent employer lists from PenCom, secure letters of introduction from the Commission, review pension records with employers, and issue demand notices. Evidence of payments is collected and verified by the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs). Importantly, the recovered funds are deposited into employees’ RSAs to compensate for lost investment income, with PenCom and PFAs covering the costs incurred by RAs.
The results speak for themselves, as evidenced by the recovery of N326.16 million during the third quarter of 2023, including N276.52 million in contributions and N49.64 million in penalties. PenCom also takes legal action against persistent defaulters, reinforcing the commitment to pension compliance. The issuance of Pension Compliance Certificates (PCCs) to 6,053 compliant employers, with N35.59 billion remitted into the RSAs of 98,887 employees, underscores the positive impact of these efforts.
In conclusion, PenCom encourages employees to report non-compliant employers, reaffirming its dedication to regulating and supervising the pension industry to ensure timely retirement benefits.
