The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has given December 31, 2023 as a deadline for all employers to comply with law regarding the remittance of employees’ pension contributions to the retirement savings accounts (RSAs) to avoid sanctions.

The commission also said employers that failed to remit their employees’ pension contributions would pay triple the amount as penalties.

“Section 11 (six) of the Pension Act 2014 states that any employer who fails to remit the contributions within the time prescribed shall, in addition to making the remittance already due, be liable to a penalty to be stipulated by the commission,” PenCom said in a notice.

The penalty, according to the pension law, shall not be less than two per cent of the total contribution that remains unpaid for each month or part of each month that the default continues, and the amount of the penalty shall be recoverable as a debt owing to the employee’s retirement savings account as the case may be.

In a document, entitled, ‘Outstanding Pension Contributions in the Account of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs)’ addressed to employers, the commission also advised employers with incomplete remittance documentation to provide their PFAs with the requisite information.

In a document sent to the PFAs, the commission observed that some employers are remitting pension contributions of their employees with incomplete documentation, hence PFAs are unable to credit the RSAs of affected employees.