RSA: PenCom to Stop Non- compliant Media Houses from MDAs Advert Placements

The National Pension Commission (PenCom), has said that it will soon bar media houses that do not regularly credit their employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) with pension contributions from advert placements from federal government ministries, agencies and departments. This is as the commission said it has issued compliance certificates to 27,021 firms that had complied with the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 between 2012 to date.

The agency, in January issued compliance certificates to 83 firms that met its requirements in this regard and had in the first quarter this year issued 6492 certificates.

PenCom, said in a recent workshop organised for journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, that it will no longer tolerate organisations which vehemently refuse to comply with the PRA Act 2004 amended in 2014, especially as it concerns remittances of workers’ Contributed funds.

It noted that media organisations are among the sub- sectors that fail to regularly remit workers’ contributions as well as their own contributions to the employees’ RSAs.

Insisting that nobody or organisation should place himself above the law of the land, the commission, said it will extend its strategy of requiring organisations bidding for federal government contracts to present their compliance certificate to media houses in the placement of advertisements by federal government agencies, ministries and parastatals.

The PRA 2004 amended in 2014 requires each employee to contribute 8 percent of his salary to its RSA opened with Pension Fund Administrator of his or her choice while the employer contributes 10per cent to the same account.

The Pension Reform Act 2014 requires that employers who wish to solicit for federal government contract or who wish to do business with any federal government Ministry, Department or Agency (MDAs) must provide proof of compliance with PRA 2014 in respect of remittance of deducted pension funds to workers’ RSA.