PenCom recovers N13.58bn from defaulting employers

A report obtained by our reporter from PenCom on Friday quoted the commission as saying its efforts in ensuring compliance by employers with the pension payment regulations were yielding positive result. “As of September 2017, the sum of N13.58bn had been recovered as outstanding pension contributions and penalties,” it stated. As part of its compliance efforts, the commission said it had been engaging the services of consultants to recover outstanding pension contributions from defaulting employers since 2012. As soon as the outstanding contributions had been determined by the consultants, the defaulting employers were asked to pay the amount with the fine for late payment. “Subsequent to the issuance of demand notices to defaulting employers whose liabilities had been established by the consultants, some employers have remitted the outstanding pension contributions and penalties,” it stated. It would be recalled that before the enactment of the Pension Reform Act in 2004, which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria, there was a pension deficit of about N2tn, which hindered many retirees from getting their retirement benefits. The old Defined Benefits Scheme, which was the pension system operational in the public sector, was bedevilled by many problems as it led to mounting pension liabilities and inability of pensioners to get paid. The failure of the DBS led to the introduction of the CPS in Nigeria, a system being practised by many developed economies. According to industry experts, the CPS under the amended PRA 2014 has strengthened the pension system with accumulated assets worth N7.4tn as of the end of November 2017. The funds, which have continued to maintain a steady growth, are being invested in different approved investment portfolios. Workers with funded RSAs who retired under the scheme are able to get their pensions regularly. Industry analysts have said the CPS has a good foundation which has solved huge pension problems for the government. According to them, the CPS needs to be developed so that workers will always get their pensions at retirement.]]>