The National Pension Commission has announced that it has recovered a cumulative total of ₦32.27 billion from defaulting employers between June 2012 and September 2025.
This significant recovery is a result of the Commission intensifying its nationwide enforcement campaign aimed at curbing persistent breaches of the Pension Reform Act 2014.
Omolola Oloworaran, the Director General of PenCom, represented by Samuel Chigozie Uwandu, Commissioner, Inspectorate, disclosed this major milestone at an intensive Training Workshop for accredited Recovery Agents held in Lagos. According to a statement released by the commission, the workshop signaled a renewed push to strengthen compliance, recover outstanding pension liabilities, and ultimately end the endemic problem of non-remittance of workers’ retirement savings by employers.
PenCom data shows that the cumulative recoveries consist of ₦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, which comprises ₦775 million in principal contributions and ₦1.27 billion in penalties from 49 defaulting employers.
Director General Oloworaran stated that PenCom has now ushered in a new era of zero tolerance for pension defaults, stressing that accredited Recovery Agents remain central to the Commission’s enforcement strategy. She firmly declared: “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,”
The Director General further emphasised that despite the notable successes of the Contributory Pension Scheme, persistent defaults by some employers continue to undermine the integrity of the entire system. She reaffirmed PenCom’s commitment to strengthening its compliance architecture, including fostering deeper inter-agency partnerships with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and other regulatory bodies.
She noted that under these crucial partnerships, employers’ compliance with the PRA 2014 will now directly influence their standing with these agencies. Consequently, defaulters will face potential restrictions on their business operations, access to government services, and regulatory privileges.
PenCom also highlighted its newly executed Memorandum of Understanding with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. This MoU now empowers the ICPC to hold the management of recalcitrant employers personally liable, effectively making persistent pension defaults a matter with potential criminal consequences. On the significance of this move, Oloworaran stated: “This MoU is a decisive step to give teeth to our recovery efforts. No employer should imagine that withholding workers’ pensions is without consequences,”
The training workshop featured specialized 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 specifically aimed at ensuring faster processing of reports and more coordinated recovery operations.
Charging the Recovery Agents, the Director General urged them to operate as ambassadors of PenCom’s renewed resolve. She instructed them: “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 concluded by stating 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.
