The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has released its report on private sector compliance with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for the second quarter of 2024. The report highlights key actions taken by the commission to enforce compliance and recover outstanding pension contributions from defaulting employers.
During the quarter under review, PenCom successfully recovered a total of N336.26 million from 35 employers who failed to remit pension contributions on time. This sum comprised N125.57 million in principal contributions and N210.68 million in penalties.
To achieve this, PenCom continued to work with 25 Recovery Agents (RAs), tasked with recovering unremitted pension contributions and penalties from defaulting employers. The commission also disclosed that its Secretariat/Legal Advisory Services Department had been engaged to initiate legal proceedings against three non-compliant employers.
Since the recovery exercise began in June 2012, PenCom has recouped a cumulative total of N27.97 billion from defaulting employers. This includes N13.60 billion in principal contributions and N14.17 billion in penalties.
Issuance of Pension Clearance Certificates (PCCs)
In the second quarter of 2024, PenCom issued 13,047 Pension Clearance Certificates (PCCs) to organizations that met the required standards. A total of N143.13 billion was remitted into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of 188,426 employees from these 13,047 organizations.
Refund of Pension Contributions to Military and Security Personnel
PenCom also provided an update on the refund of pension contributions to personnel from the military and other security agencies. Five requests for refunds were processed, and a total of N0.39 million was refunded to the affected personnel. These refunds are in line with the exemption of military and security services personnel from the CPS due to the unique nature of their roles.
NSITF Transfer of Funds
Regarding the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), PenCom processed twelve batches of NSITF transfer applications from Trustfund Pensions Limited, representing 91 NSITF members. The approved sum of N3.96 million was transferred into the RSAs of these members. However, N370,000 of the requested amount, which was remitted after the termination of the NSITF scheme in 2004, was not approved for transfer.
NSITF Benefits Payment
PenCom also processed five batches of applications for the payment of NSITF benefits amounting to N705,573.54 for 17 contributors. Additionally, approval was granted to Trustfund Pensions for the payment of monthly pensions totaling N40.24 million to 2,263 NSITF pensioners. Since 2006, NSITF pension payments have reached a cumulative total of N5.57 billion.
These updates underscore PenCom’s ongoing efforts to enforce compliance, recover outstanding contributions, and ensure that pension entitlements are paid promptly to contributors and pensioners alike.
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