The National Pension Commission has recovered N4.57 billion from defaulting employers between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

Oguche Agudah, chief executive officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mr Agudah said that the figure comprised ₦2.12 billion in outstanding pension contributions and ₦2.45 billion in penalties.

According to him, these were realised from 138 employers found to have defaulted in remitting workers’ pension funds through PenCom’s enforcement.

He said, “This is evidence that enforcement continues to safeguard workers’ retirement savings. The pattern also highlights what is next, which is a move from episodic crackdowns to durable prevention by tightening real-time remittance monitoring, escalating sanctions for chronic defaulters, and deepening employer education to reduce repeat offences. The goal is not just big recovery headlines; it is fewer defaults, faster remittances, and a stronger, more predictable contributory pension scheme.

“It is vital that workers know their rights. All employers engaging three or more staff are required by law to remit pensions on behalf of their employees. There are whistleblowing mechanisms for employees whose organisations do not comply.”

According to Mr Agudah, a breakdown of the enforcement exercise, which led to these recoveries, revealed that the highest recovery was recorded in the first quarter of 2024, when N751.51 million in contributions and N1.44 billion in penalties were recouped.

He noted that although recoveries dipped in the middle of 2024, activities picked up in the fourth quarter and rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2025.

He said during the period, the commission recovered ₦972.12 million in contributions and ₦381.88 million in penalties from 19 employers.

He explained that while the first quarter of 2025 was not the highest in overall recovery, it posted the strongest principal contribution of the five-quarter period, with an average recovery of N71 million per employer compared with about N63 million in the same quarter of 2024.

He noted that the trend showed it was tackling larger and more material cases, even as the number of defaulting employers declined.

 (NAN)