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The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has accredited pension recovery agents to serve as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s social contract with workers.

They are to recover N32.27 billion, comprising N15.87 billion in principal contributions and N16.40 billion in penalties from defaulting employers between June 2012 and September 2025.

In a statement by the commission’s management, the Director General, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, announced the development at a workshop in Lagos.

She said the commission had ushered in a new era of zero tolerance for pension defaulters.

The PenCom boss reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to enforcing strict compliance across the pension industry.

Oloworaran, who was represented by the Commissioner in charge of Inspectorate PenCom, Samuel Chigozie Uwandu, spoke during an intensive training workshop for accredited recovery agents in Lagos.

She noted that the training marked a renewed nationwide compliance push to recover outstanding pension contributions and penalties from employers who persistently violate the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, which mandates remittance of pension contributions within seven working days of salary payment.

She said: “The workshop outlined new strategic initiatives that will strengthen enforcement efforts, deepen inter-agency collaboration, and empower recovery agents to tackle non-remittance of pension contributions with greater precision and authority with PenCom is currently engaging Recovery Agents to audit defaulting employers, calculate outstanding pension liabilities, issue demand notices, and facilitate recovery of unremitted pension contributions.

“Recovery Agents work has been instrumental in enforcing compliance since the start of the recovery exercise in 2012, in addition PenCom recorded significant compliance gains in the third quarter of 2025 alone, recovering N2.06 billion (N775 million principal and N1.27 billion penalties) from 49 defaulting employers, reflecting a sustained surge in enforcement activities.

“Despite the successes of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), persistent defaults by employers threaten the fundamental purpose of the system. Every unremitted Naira represents a broken promise to a Nigerian worker as this Commission has moved from promoting voluntary compliance to mandating enforced compliance. The era of impunity is over.”

Oloworaran explained that the appointment of recovery agents followed a competitive, transparent selection process, reflecting PenCom’s confidence in their capacity, professionalism, and integrity, reminding participants that they are the operational arm of PenCom’s enforcement and are critical to PenCom’s strategy to safeguard workers’ retirement savings.

The DG outlined several bold initiatives forming PenCom’s expanded enforcement architecture, including forming stronger partnerships with key regulatory bodies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other relevant agencies. Under these partnerships, employers’ compliance with the PRA 2014 will influence their standing with these bodies, noting that defaulting employers will face consequences beyond PenCom, as non-compliance may affect business operations, access to government services, and regulatory privileges.