PenCom to recover N1.3bn owed journalists by newspaper outfits

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed that newspaper organisations are owing over N1.3 trillion in unpaid pension contributions for journalists, vowing to recover the said amount. The revelation was made by the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, who led a delegation to the Nigerian Press Council in Abuja. Oloworaran expressed concerns over […]

PenCom to recover N1.3bn owed journalists by newspaper outfits

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The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has revealed that newspaper organisations are owing over N1.3 trillion in unpaid pension contributions for journalists, vowing to recover the said amount.

The revelation was made by the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, who led a delegation to the Nigerian Press Council in Abuja.

Oloworaran expressed concerns over widespread non-compliance with the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014) among media establishments.

Consequently, PenCom and the Nigerian Press Council have entered into a strategic collaboration to prevail on newspaper organisations to settle the huge pension liabilities owed to their employees.

The PRA 2014 mandates that employers remit monthly pension contributions into employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) no later than seven days after salary payments.

According to the PenCom DG, many media houses have failed to adhere to this requirement, prompting the commission to assign Recovery Agents to audit and determine their outstanding pension debts and applicable penalties.

The PenCom DG has been leading an enforcement drive, building strategic partnerships with regulatory agencies aimed at recovering unpaid pension contributions from organisations running into billions of Naira.

This is the first time of conducting such high-level engagements in the media sector towards resolving the lingering issue.