The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has intensified its nationwide enforcement campaign against pension defaults, declaring a new era of zero tolerance for employers who fail to remit workers’ pension contributions as required by law.
PenCom’s Director General, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, represented by the Commissioner for Inspectorate, Hon. Samuel Chigozie Uwandu, made this known at a one-day Training Workshop for accredited Recovery Agents held in Lagos on December 2, 2025.
The workshop marks a renewed compliance push aimed at recovering billions in outstanding pension contributions and penalties from employers violating the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, which mandates that all pension deductions be remitted within seven working days of salary payment.
Deepening Enforcement Capacity
Speaking at the event, Ms. Oloworaran reaffirmed PenCom’s commitment to protecting workers’ retirement savings through strengthened enforcement measures and enhanced collaboration across regulatory agencies.
She noted that Recovery Agents—responsible for auditing defaulting employers, calculating outstanding liabilities and issuing demand notices—remain central to PenCom’s compliance strategy.
Since the inception of the recovery program in 2012, Recovery Agents have facilitated the recovery of ₦32.27 billion from defaulting employers, comprising ₦15.87 billion in unremitted pension contributions and ₦16.40 billion in penalties as of September 2025.
PenCom achieved further gains in the third quarter of 2025 alone, recovering ₦2.06 billion (₦775 million principal and ₦1.27 billion penalties) from 49 employers.
“Every unremitted naira represents a broken promise to a Nigerian worker,” the DG said. “We have moved from promoting voluntary compliance to mandating enforced compliance. The era of impunity is over.”
Regulatory Pressure Mounts for Defaulting Employers
The DG highlighted several new initiatives forming part of PenCom’s expanded enforcement architecture. These include enhanced collaboration with key federal agencies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Under the new framework, an employer’s compliance with the PRA will be factored into its regulatory standing, potentially affecting business operations, licensing, and access to government services.
PenCom has also signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The MoU empowers ICPC to hold directors and senior management of persistently defaulting employers personally accountable, elevating pension non-remittance to a matter with potential criminal consequences.
“No employer should assume that withholding workers’ pensions is without repercussions,” Oloworaran stressed. “This MoU gives real teeth to our recovery efforts.”
Equipping Recovery Agents for the Next Phase
The workshop featured training modules tailored to equip Recovery Agents with improved skills in:
- Employer audit and compliance assessment
- Liability computation and negotiation
- Documentation and evidence management
- Reporting under PenCom’s enhanced enforcement framework
- Use of new digital compliance and monitoring tools
Participants were also briefed on internal reforms within PenCom intended to accelerate report processing, improve inter-departmental coordination, and strengthen real-time monitoring of ongoing recovery efforts.
A Call to Action
In her closing remarks, the DG urged the Recovery Agents to uphold the highest ethical standards while executing their duties.
“You are the ambassadors of this new resolve,” she said. “Be professional, be diligent, and be unwavering in securing what is rightfully due to the Nigerian worker.”
PenCom, she assured, remains fully committed to supporting Recovery Agents with all necessary tools and institutional backing to ensure that all outstanding pension liabilities are recovered.
The workshop ended with a renewed sense of mission as enforcement activities are expected to intensify across the country throughout 2026 and beyond.
PenCom intensifies enforcement against pension defaults as DG Omolola Oloworaran unveils new compliance measures and trains Recovery Agents to recover billions in unremitted pension funds. New MoUs with CAC, FIRS, and ICPC heighten consequences for employers violating the Pension Reform Act.
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