…increased enforcement nationwide
…to train agents for recovery of pension liabilities from employers
The National Pensions Commission (Pencom) has announced that it has recovered a total of €32.27 billion from delinquent employers between June 2012 and September 2025, as the Commission stepped up its nationwide enforcement campaign to stop persistent breaches of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.
The Director General of Pencom, Omolola Oloworan, who was represented by the Commissioner of Inspectorate, Samuel Chigozie Uwandu, disclosed this at an intensive training workshop for Accredited Recovery Agents held in Lagos.
According to a statement from the Commission, the workshop renewed efforts to strengthen compliance, recover outstanding pension liabilities and eliminate the endemic problem of non-remittance of workers' retirement savings by employers.
According to Pencom data, cumulative recoveries include 15.87 billion euros in unpaid pension contributions and 16.40 billion euros in fines 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, including ₹775 million in basic contributions and ₹1.27 billion in penalties from 49 defaulting employers.
Olovoran said Pencom has now ushered in a new era of zero tolerance for pension defaults, noting that Accredited Recovery Agents remain at the center of the commission's enforcement strategy.
“Every unconverted 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 emphasized that despite the notable successes of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), persistent defaults by some employers are undermining the integrity of the system.
He reaffirmed PenCom's commitment to strengthening its compliance architecture, including deep inter-agency partnerships with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other regulatory bodies.
He said that under these partnerships, employers' compliance with the PRA 2014 will now affect their status 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 Offenses Commission (ICPC), which empowers the ICPC to hold managements of recalcitrant employers personally liable, thereby making persistent pension default a matter with potential criminal consequences.
Olovoran said, “This MoU is a decisive step to accelerate our recovery efforts. No employer should imagine that withholding workers' pensions is without consequences.”
The workshop included training modules on employer audit techniques, compliance assessment, liability calculations, documentation management and application of advanced digital reporting tools under Pencom's enhanced 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 Director General urged them to serve as ambassadors of PENCOM's new resolve.
“You are the operational arm of PENCOM’s enforcement will. Exercise professional care, maintain ethical standards, and work tirelessly to achieve what the Nigerian worker deserves.”
Pencom said it will continue to provide the necessary institutional support to ensure that all outstanding pension contributions of workers are recovered as the Commission and its recovery agents intensify compliance activities in 2026 and beyond.
