An audit has uncovered persistent irregularities in the pension system, raising fresh concerns over the possibility of ghost pensioners, incomplete records and questionable payments running into billions of shillings.

The Auditor General’s report covering the financial year ending June 2024 reveals that billions of shillings in pension payments remain under scrutiny due to gaps in records, delayed processing and long-standing reconciliation issues.

In her report to Parliament, Gathungu questioned the accuracy of Sh118.55 billion pension payments, which include Sh61.68 billion for civil pensions and Sh8.4 billion for military pensions.

“However, as previously reported, the payroll provided for audit review had some missing pensioners’ details, such as ID numbers, while some pensioner employee numbers had been recorded as ‘DUMMY’,” Gathungu said.

“In the circumstances, the credibility and integrity of the pensioners’ data used for processing pension payments could not be confirmed.”

Pension refers to money paid monthly by an employer to a retired employee upon reaching mandatory retirement age, voluntary retirement at 50 years, retirement due to injury or ill health, restructuring, or to dependents of a deceased officer.

The Auditor General further highlighted suspected fraudulent transactions, noting that the June 2024 bank reconciliation statement showed Sh15.64 billion in payments recorded in the bank but not reflected in the cash book. Out of this, Sh14.89 billion has remained unresolved since 2008.

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