PenCom Recovers N27.97bn from Defaulting Employers in 12 years

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that N27.97bn has been recovered from defaulting employers since the commencement of its recovery exercise in June 2012.

According to PenCom, which is the body regulating, supervising, and ensuring the effective administration of pension matters in Nigeria, the sum comprises N13.60bn in principal contributions and N14.17bn in penalties, all from employers who failed to remit pension contributions as required by law.

In its latest quarterly report, the commission revealed that during the second quarter of 2024, it recovered N336.255m from 35 defaulting employers, including N125.57m in principal contributions and N210.68m in penalties.

The commission said it had continued to engage 25 recovery agents for the recovery of unremitted pension contributions and penalties.

It stated that its secretariat/legal advisory services department had been directed to take legal action against three defaulting employers.

PenCom further reported that it processed five requests for the refund of pension contributions to military personnel and other security agencies.

According to the commission, these personnel are exempt from the Contributory Pension Scheme due to the nature of their jobs, adding that N0.39m was refunded to the affected individuals during the quarter.

The regulator emphasized its commitment to ensuring compliance with pension remittance regulations and taking necessary actions against defaulters.

The Acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, revealed that the pension fund assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme had increased to N20.79tn as of July 2024.

Oloworaran added that states had collectively remitted over N236.7bn between January 2020 and the second quarter of 2024.

The National Pension Commission recently revealed plans to integrate over 60 million informal workers into the national pension scheme.