April 22, 2022

Business owners in Nigeria have raised the alarm over “inexplicable delay” in the issuance of Pension Compliance Certificate (PCC) also known as the Certificate of Compliance by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the regulatory body for pensions in Nigeria.

A PCC is one of the requirements to bid for a contract/consultancy in Nigeria and it is issued by PenCom to employers of labour as evidence of their participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as spelt out in the Pension Reform Act (PRA 2014).

Investigations by Political Economist NG at the PenCom office in Abuja showed a lengthening backlog of applications by corporate organisations for issuance of PCC. Officially, according to PenCom, it takes 15 working days from the date of receipt for an application to be processed. Within this period, an application can be approved or rejected.

However, some of the representatives of corporate organisations who spoke to our Correspondent said their applications had taken months without approval or rejection. Some claimed extortion on the part of the staff of PenCom without which applications would be delayed.

Two representatives of two different companies who spoke to our correspondent anonymously for fear of victimization, said they had made PenCom office their primary place of resumption every day in the hope of ensuring that their companies’ applications are treated. They urged the management of PenCom to monitor their staff as some of them have turned what ought to be a painless process into a money mill for their personal gain.

Their claim finds justification in the large number of applicants’ traffic to PenCom office, some claiming they got there as early as 7.30am for a process that starts by 9.00am.

The PRA 2014 states that the PCC is a prerequisite for providing evidence of remittance of employee’s contribution for suppliers, contractors or consultants bidding for contracts or business from any federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs)

In its compliance guidelines for life insurance policy for employees and the submission of insurance certificates issued to employers, PenCom said companies with no insurance covers for their workers would no longer be allowed to do any government business.

PenCom requires organizations wishing to obtain the PCC to forward their application to the commission along with the following documents:

Certified list of employees as at the end of the last fiscal year by an authorized official of the organization.

Certified rate of monthly pension contributions, specifying employer and employee rates i.e. minimum of 10% by employer and minimum of 8% by the employee.

Evidence of remittance of all outstanding pension contributions and penalties. This is applicable only to organizations whose pension contributions have been reviewed by PenCom or its agent and found to be culpable; among others.