PenCom Fines 13 Firms N56.5bn for Unremitted Pensions

By Adedapo Adesanya

Not less than 13 organisations, whose pension liabilities to their employees have been established, have been made to pay N56.5 billion penalties.

This information was revealed in a report released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), which stated that the money was paid following the issuance of demand notices to defaulting employers.

The pension sector regulator disclosed that the pension liabilities were established by the Recovery Agents (RAs) appointed for the sole purpose of compelling employers who do not remit pension deductions.

The commission also stated that a total of N213 billion was recovered as principal contributions, adding that 5,700 private sector organisations applied for issuance of Pension Clearance Certificates (PCCs).

It was explained that out of this number, 5,432 organisations were issued certificates while the remaining 268 applications were declined for not meeting the stipulated requirements.

The report read, “A total sum of N24.9 billion was remitted into the Retirement Savings Account (RSAs) of 76,498 employees by the 5,432 organisations that were issued with the PCCs during the period under review.

“The commission also received and processed 81 applications for the refund of pension contributions totalling N6.1 billion to military and other security agencies’ personnel who were exempted from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).”

“In the same vein, the commission received 14 batches of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) transfer applications on behalf of 220 NSITF contributors.

“Accordingly, approval was granted for transfer of the sum of N13.6 billion to the RSAs of the 220 contributors.

“The commission granted approval for payment of N62.2 billion as monthly pensions to 3,628 NSITF pensioners.”