The National Pension Commission has automated penalties for employers delaying workers’ pension contributions, warning that defaulters will be denied Pension Clearance Certificates until they settle their outstanding liabilities.
The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Tuesday at the commission’s 2026 Annual Media Conference in Abuja, saying the measure was designed to enforce compliance with the Pension Reform Act.
She explained that employers without valid clearance certificates could face difficulties securing government contracts and conducting other business transactions requiring proof of pension compliance.
Oloworaran said the new system automatically calculates penalties for delayed remittances and links their settlement to the issuance of clearance certificates.
“I would also note that the new system we just implemented for PCC, the system auto-calculates penalties. So, if you are requesting a pension plan certificate, and there are any delays in you remitting your pension until you pay your penalties, you will not be able to get your pension plan certificate,” she said.
The PenCom boss said the commission was intensifying efforts to track employers who failed to remit pension contributions or delayed payments.
“But we are monitoring and we are going after employers who are not contributing and also those who are not contributing in time as well,” she added.
She said the enforcement measures extended to business relationships involving pension fund operators and companies that defaulted on their pension obligations.
According to her, pension fund operators are prohibited from investing in companies that fail to remit workers’ pension contributions.
The restrictions also cover investment placements and other financial transactions involving non-compliant organisations.
Oloworaran cited First Bank, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank as examples of major financial institutions with affiliations to the pension industry that could support the enforcement measures.
She disclosed that PenCom had engaged recovery agents to examine employers’ records, establish outstanding pension liabilities and facilitate the recovery of unpaid contributions.
The commission, she said, had recovered a cumulative N36.6bn from defaulting employers as of July 2026, adding that recoveries recorded during the year had already surpassed the previous annual record.
Oloworaran warned employers against deducting pension contributions from workers’ salaries without remitting the funds to their Retirement Savings Accounts.
“A deduction on a payslip that does not reach a Retirement Savings Account is a breach of trust and a breach of the law,” she declared.
She added, “We will find what is owed, we will recover it, and we will hold those responsible to account.”
On state government compliance, the PenCom director-general disclosed that two additional states had commenced pension contributions in 2026.
However, she said the states had yet to satisfy all the requirements for the full implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme.
She said the commission was engaging state governments to improve compliance and strengthen retirement benefits for their workers.
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