PenCom Issues Final Warning to Employers, Announces Date to Blacklist Defaulters

• Nigeria's pension regulator is set to enforce compliance among employers after several warnings and deadlines
• In line with the provisions of the 2014 Pension Reform Act, organisations are to regularly remit pension obligations for their staff
• PenCom has sent a final warning to non-compliant firms and given them a final date to do their remittance or face blacklisting

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a Legit.ng journalist, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has issued a final warning to employers and organisations over the due remittance of pension obligations.

Organisations that fail to comply and remit all pension obligations risk being blacklisted.

The Director General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, gave this warning at the commission’s Q2 Media briefing in Lagos.

Note that PenCom introduced a new pension contribution remittance system in May to improve transparency, and first set June 1, 2025, as the deadline for employers to adopt the new system.

Oloworaran noted that the commission is now in an era of zero tolerance for non-compliance and would fully enforce the 2014 Pension Reform Act.

The final date for compliance is set for November 10, 2025 and every organisaiton that has not met their remittance obligations by the said date would be blacklisted.

She warned:

“Every organisation, public, private, big or small, must comply with pension remittance obligations. No exceptions, no delays. All Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians have been directed to ensure every vendor, service provider, and counterparty has a valid Pension Clearance Certificate (PCC) that evidences that they have been up to date and compliant with pension contribution.

“By November 30 this year, any entity without a PCC will be blacklisted and cut off from pension business with all PenCom regulated entities.”

The PenCom DG insisted that compliance with the directive is not optional but existential, adding that the directive includes financial institutions like banks, as well as their parent companies, investment counterparties, and shareholders of licensed pension fund administrators and custodians.

The latest move is in line with efforts to restructure the pension industry in Nigeria and build a robust and inclusive system that will support sustainable economic development.

The Cable News reports that in this robust system, only companies that value the future of their employees will participate and reap the rewards.

She urged all pension-fund-affiliated entities to enforce the PCC requirements among their operators.

PenCom introduces new requirement for PSAs

Recall that PenCom mandated the inclusion of the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) for retirement savings accounts.

This directive targets the savings accounts of workers of both government and private companies.

According to the commission, the move would help to bolster the security and integrity of the pension database.

The funds can then be invested into assets like federal government Bonds, Treasury Bills, Agency Bonds, SUKUK Bonds, and Green Bonds.

PenCom grants PFAs approval authority

In related news, PenCom has granted Pension Funds Administrators full authority to process and approve retirement benefits.

The new rules eliminate the need for prior approval from PenCom when workers need to access retirement benefits.

Legit.ng reported that eight Payment Service Providers (PSPs) were also approved to facilitate seamless pension disbursements.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng