PenCom recovers N32.27bn from defaulting employers since 2012

…steps up nationwide enforcement

…Trains agents on recovering pension liabilities from employers

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced that it has recovered a cumulative total of ₦32.27 billion from defaulting employers between June 2012 and September 2025, as the Commission intensifies its nationwide enforcement campaign to curb persistent breaches of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

Omolola Oloworaran, Director General of PenCom, represented by Samuel Chigozie Uwandu, Commissioner, Inspectorate, disclosed this at an intensive Training Workshop for accredited Recovery Agents held in Lagos.

According to a statement by the commission, the workshop marked a renewed push to strengthen compliance, recover outstanding pension liabilities, and end the endemic problem of non-remittance of workers’ retirement savings by employers.

According to PenCom data, the cumulative recoveries include ₦15.87 billion in outstanding pension contributions and ₦16.40 billion in penalties imposed on employers who defaulted on mandatory remittances. The Commission also recorded significant gains in the third quarter of 2025 alone, recovering ₦2.06 billion, comprising ₦775 million in principal contributions and ₦1.27 billion in penalties from 49 defaulting employers.

Oloworaran stated that PenCom has now ushered in a new era of zero tolerance for pension defaults, noting that accredited Recovery Agents remain central to the Commission’s enforcement strategy.

“Every unremitted Naira represents a broken promise to a Nigerian worker. This Commission has moved from promoting voluntary compliance to mandating enforced compliance. The era of impunity is over,” she said

The Director General emphasised that despite the notable successes of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), persistent defaults by some employers continue to undermine the system’s integrity.

She reaffirmed PenCom’s commitment to strengthening its compliance architecture, including deeper inter-agency partnerships with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other regulatory bodies.

She noted that under these partnerships, employers’ compliance with the PRA 2014 will now influence their standing with these agencies, with defaulters facing potential restrictions on business operations, access to government services, and regulatory privileges.

PenCom also highlighted its newly executed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which empowers ICPC to hold the management of recalcitrant employers personally liable, making persistent pension defaults a matter with potential criminal consequences.

“This MoU is a decisive step to give teeth to our recovery efforts. No employer should imagine that withholding workers’ pensions is without consequences,” Oloworaran said

The workshop featured training modules on employer audit techniques, compliance assessment, liability computation, documentation management, and the application of enhanced digital reporting tools under PenCom’s upgraded enforcement framework.

Participants were also briefed on internal reforms aimed at ensuring faster processing of reports and more coordinated recovery operations.

Charging the Recovery Agents, the DG urged them to operate as ambassadors of PenCom’s renewed resolve. “You are the operational arm of PenCom’s enforcement will. Exercise professional care, uphold ethical standards, and be relentless in securing what is rightfully due to the Nigerian worker,”

PenCom said it will continue to provide the necessary institutional support to ensure that all outstanding pension contributions owed to workers are recovered as the Commission and its Recovery Agents intensify compliance activities throughout 2026 and beyond.

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