The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that ₦99.28 billion in pension contributions deducted from workers’ salaries remains unallocated to beneficiaries’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), despite sustained efforts to trace the rightful owners of the funds. The Commission said the uncredited contributions were recorded as of March 2026 and that a decision would soon be taken on the accumulated funds after years of unsuccessful reconciliation efforts.
The disclosure was made during the one-year anniversary of the Pension Contribution Remittance System (PCRS) in Lagos, an event jointly organised by PenCom, the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) and the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
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Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Trust Through PCRS: Safeguarding the Future of Pension Remittances,” the Director of Surveillance at PenCom, Saleem Muhammad, explained that the money represents pension deductions already remitted into the pension system but which could not be credited to contributors because of incomplete or inaccurate information. According to him, approximately 70 per cent of the unallocated contributions originated from private sector employers, while the remaining 30 per cent came from the public sector.
Muhammad attributed the accumulation of the funds to weaknesses in the manual pension remittance process previously used in the industry. He explained that the contributions are not missing but remain in limbo because they cannot be matched to individual Retirement Savings Accounts.
Among the major causes identified are missing contribution schedules, invalid or incorrect RSA Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), mismatches between RSA PINs and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), incorrect employer information, database inconsistencies, unidentified payment sources, remittances made from personal bank accounts, weak payroll controls by employers, poor Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance and the submission of payments without accompanying schedules.
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He stressed that the problem is fundamentally a data reconciliation challenge, rather than the non-remittance of pension contributions, noting that the funds have already entered the pension system but cannot legally be allocated until the beneficiaries are properly identified. PenCom has previously clarified the distinction between “unremitted” and “uncredited” pension funds, explaining that uncredited contributions arise mainly from documentation and data errors rather than employer refusal to remit deductions.
Muhammad revealed that a significant portion of the unresolved contributions belongs to casual workers employed by construction companies, including Julius Berger Plc, many of whom have since left their jobs and cannot be traced. He said repeated efforts by the Commission and pension operators to locate the affected workers have yielded little success, prompting PenCom to consider appropriate regulatory action regarding the funds.
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To address the long-standing challenge, PenCom introduced the Pension Contribution Remittance System (PCRS) on April 1, 2025, making migration to the digital platform mandatory from June 1, 2025. The platform replaces the fragmented manual process with an automated system that validates employee and employer information before payments are processed, thereby reducing reconciliation errors and improving transparency.
Under the PCRS, employers are required to upload contribution schedules electronically, while Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs) validate RSA PINs, employer codes and Pension Fund Administrator details before remittances are accepted. The system also creates a complete digital audit trail designed to reduce future cases of unallocated pension contributions.
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PenCom urged employers to strengthen payroll controls and ensure accurate employee records to prevent further accumulation of uncredited contributions, while contributors were advised to update their RSA information and monitor their pension statements regularly.
