EFCC and PENCOM to Prosecute Employers Over Pension Contributions

Fresh reports suggest the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is working in collaboration with the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on the investigation and imminent prosecution of employers for non-remittance of pension contributions.

The anti-graft agency is already compiling a list of affected agencies, public corporations and private establishments whose managements have been collecting, but failing to remit pension contributions for their workers.

The Vanguard newspapers reports that PenCom director-general, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu stated that the collaboration with the EFCC became necessary in the face of rising cases of non-remitted pension funds.

Anohu-Amazu spoke at a briefing ahead of the third edition of World Pension Summit (WPS), taking place between September 27 and 28.

The PenCom boss described the non-remittance of deducted pension contributions of workers as an economic crime.

Anohu-Amazu said: “Non-remittance is on two fronts. Those who are not contributing at all and those who have their contributions deducted from their salaries and not sent to their Retirement Saving Accounts, RSA. That in itself is a financial crime.”

She added: “We receive calls from individuals showing proof of deductions from their salaries and when they look at statements from their Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, it does not tally. This in itself is the beauty of the contribution pension scheme because you can check while you are still working than when you are already retired.”

Anohu-Amaju stated that the pension assets in Nigeria had grossed about N6 trillion in the past 12 years of PenCom’s existence, admitting that there were challenges to be addressed.