Omolola Oloworaran, DG PenCom
It will no longer be business as usual for organizations be it public, private, big and small as they all must comply with pensions remittance obligations, without exceptions, and with no limit.
Reading the riot Act at a press briefing in Lagos, the Director General of Pension Commission, PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, mandated that all Pension Fund Administrators, and Pension Fund Custodians must present valid Pension Cearance Cleartificates that will serve as evidences of being up to date and compliant with pensions remittance obligations, failure of which such an entity will be blacklisted and barred from engaging in any pension-related business with licensed operators regulated by PenCom.
She further said there would be revamping of investment regulation to expand into other alternative assets, and also increase assets the pension fund can cover and invest in while ensuring transparency in its implementation.
“Micro pensions has been renamed as a personal pension plan and and being re engineered for skillls, technology enablement and deep penetration into the informal sector”.Oloworaran said.
“Pencom will be in charge of the transformation that is to come. It is now zero tolerance for non compliance to the pension reform act of 2014. Effective immediately, pencom has launched an uncompromising compliance drive to ensure the Pension reform act is complied with by every operator”.
Giving a deadline of 30th November, 2025, Oloworaran noted that the directive also extends to banks, investment partners, parent companies of pension firms, and shareholders linked to licensed pension entities, companies and shareholders of licensed pension funds administrator, saying . all Pension Funds Affiliated Entities must enforce the Pensions Clearance Certificate accross all eco systems and submit Annual Compliance Certification.
“Pension compliance will no longer be optional and only those who value the future of their employees can participate in this eco system and the reward that it offers,” the DG noted.
Oloworaran reiterated that the end of pension arrears is near after years of anxiety and injustice, commending president Bola Ahmed Tinubu for putting an end to pension backlogs as PenCom has consistently witnessed the release of funds for accrued rights since November 2024 and as at today, retirees up to March, 2025 have been paid their pensions, benefits and are receiving their monthly pensions, saying this is a historic milestone that reflects the credibility of the Contributory Pension Scheme.
According to Oloworaran, the newly introduced Pension Boost 1.0 is what every retiree has been waiting for and effectively from June, 2025, total monthly pension payment under the CPS will increase from 8.3billion naira to 11.9 billion naira directly benefitting over 233,000, retirees, depending on their pension account balances.
The DG noted that this is not a token increase but a strategic move backed by robust economic reforms and enhanced RSA fund performance by President Tinubu’s approval of a N750.8 billion bond to clear outstanding pension liabilities, underscoring the administration’s commitment to ensuring a secure and dignified retirement for Nigerian workers.