PenCom Cracks Down on Pension Defaults, Warns Employers of Tough Sanctions
Nigeria’s pension regulator is signalling a decisive shift from persuasion to punishment as it intensifies efforts to enforce full compliance with pension remittances across the economy — including within the media industry.
At the 2025 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Omolola Oloworaran, issued one of the strongest warnings yet to defaulting employers: comply fully with pension obligations or face tougher regulatory sanctions.
From Engagement to Enforcement
Oloworaran disclosed that while PenCom has sustained engagement with non-compliant employers, progress has been slower than expected due to entrenched systemic delays and weak internal governance structures within organisations.
Engagement, she stressed, will remain the regulator’s first line of action — but only for so long.
“We have started engagement, and I am hopeful that by next year we will begin to see positive results. But non-remittance of pensions should frankly be treated as a criminal offence,” she said.
That position marks a significant policy inflection point. PenCom is now actively exploring amendments to the Pension Reform Act to criminalise pension non-remittance, effectively reframing it from a regulatory breach to a prosecutable offence.
Rewriting the Pension Rulebook
Beyond enforcement, Oloworaran revealed that PenCom is accelerating regulatory reforms, abandoning the old practice of waiting years to update rules.
Parts of the commission’s investment regulations are already under review, driven by industry feedback and market realities — a move designed to improve pension fund performance and protect contributors’ long-term value.
Looking ahead to 2026, PenCom’s reform agenda is firmly anchored on trust, transparency, and inflation-beating returns.
“Our goal is to ensure Pension Fund Administrators are consistently delivering inflation-plus outcomes for retirees and RSA contributors. Above all, we will continue to defend the rights of every contributor in the system.”
Direct Engagement With Nigerians
In a bid to strengthen public confidence, PenCom plans to launch direct engagement with Nigerians from Q1 2026, including structured media interactions aimed at addressing complaints and demystifying pension processes.
Central to this initiative is a new customer relationship management (CRM) system currently under development. The platform will allow retirees and contributors to lodge complaints directly against Pension Fund Administrators, with PenCom maintaining full oversight.
Expected to go live in 2026, the system is designed to deepen accountability, improve service delivery, and close long-standing feedback gaps in the pension ecosystem.
Police Pensions, Military Parity
Oloworaran also confirmed that PenCom is working on proposals to ensure police retirement benefits are aligned more closely with military pensions, addressing a long-standing disparity within Nigeria’s security architecture. She expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved within the next year.
Industry Signals a Turning Point
Reinforcing the regulator’s position, Mrs Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, Acting Managing Director of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), said recent reforms have laid a stronger foundation for the industry.
She described the Pension Boost 1.0 initiative as a watershed moment, unlocking solutions to legacy challenges around accrued pension rights, easing administrative bottlenecks, restoring confidence, and ensuring thousands of retirees finally receive long-outstanding benefits.
According to her, the transition to Pension Revolution 2.0 has gained further momentum following the Federal Government’s issuance of ₦758 billion in bonds to cover accrued pension rights — a clear signal of sovereign commitment to pension sustainability.
BRANDECONOMY Insight
PenCom’s posture reflects a broader recalibration of Nigeria’s regulatory culture: compliance is no longer optional, and delays will no longer be indulged. As pension assets grow and retirees’ expectations rise, enforcement, technology, and performance accountability are becoming non-negotiable pillars of the system.
For employers, especially in traditionally lax sectors, the message is unambiguous: pension remittance is no longer a back-office afterthought — it is a legal, moral, and soon-to-be criminal obligation.
