February 2023
27Feb

Kenya. Private firms to battle NSSF for new billions in pension

Private financial services firms are angling for a share of billions from enhanced pension contributions following the enactment of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act 2013. The implementation of the Act has unlocked billions of shillings under tier II contributions which have been opened to other pension funds apart from NSSF. An employer can choose to send second-tier NSSF contributions to a private scheme after remitting tier-one deductions to the state-owned fund. According to estimates seen by the Business Daily from...

February 27, 2023
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21Feb

Kenya. Administrator welcomes NSSF contribution rise, urges simple opt-out process

Pension administrator Enwealth has welcomed the move to increase retirement savings contributions through the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act 2013. Early this February, the Court of Appeal quashed a judgment by an Employment and Labour Relations Court that declared the NSSF Act 2013 unconstitutional. While the Act recommended a monthly deduction of Sh200 to Sh600 for lower earners, top earners will be deducted Sh320 to Sh1,080 on a graduated scale. Increased contributions seek to ensure financial security for the retirees. However, the...

February 21, 2023
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10Feb

Kenya. Pensions Department To Fast-Track Processing Of Pensions

Retiring public servants will receive their pension within 90 days after exiting from service if a plan by the Pensions Department in the Treasury and Planning Ministry to fast-track the processing of pension materializes. Already, the department has deployed its officers at the Teachers Service Commission and Vigilance House to help process pension for retiring teachers and police officers and the same is expected to be replicated at the Headquarters of all ministries, officials have said. This, the officials said, will...

February 10, 2023
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02Feb

Most Kenyans lack a saving scheme – RBA

Close to 14 million workers mainly in the informal sector do not have any form of savings, according to the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA). The authority is warns that this will have far reaching consequences in future as the number of poor retirees with no savings hits the streets. According to Jackson Ngotho, a director with RBA, close to 13.9m Kenyans have no form of savings towards their retirement, the majority being in the informal sector. He noted that of the 3.5...

February 2, 2023
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January 2023
30Jan

Concern as millions with no savings in Kenya face old age poverty

About 13.9 million Kenyans have no form of retirement savings scheme, and the majority of them are in the informal sector. According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), there were about 17.4 million people in the formal and informal sectors as of the year 2020.“The labour market is skewed towards informal employment at 83 per cent. This is a time bomb and indicating that most Kenyans will retire poor,” the report notes. The report was presented during...

January 30, 2023
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12Jan

Kenyan Pension Funds To Intensify Regional Investments In 2023

The Kenya Pension Funds Investment Consortium (KEPFIC) will this year mobilize billions in investment from local pension funds for regional opportunities. KEPFIC Secretariat in a public statement said it is looking for bankable projects that are backed by strong environmental, social and governance principles. “KEPFIC is releasing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to invite investment proposals from project sponsors and fund managers that are looking to raise capital from Kenyan pension funds for regional opportunities,” KEPFIC announced in public statement today. KEPFIC...

January 12, 2023
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December 2022
09Dec

Kenya. World Bank backs bid to raise NSSF contributions

The World Bank has backed Kenya’s efforts to increase pension contributions by workers to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from the current Sh200 per month to six per cent of monthly pay. This is a boost to the Kenya Kwanza administration’s push for enhanced pension savings with employees’ monthly contribution to NSSF expected to rise ten-fold to Sh2,000, with employers expected to match this amount. President William Ruto’s push for increased contribution to the provident fund has already been endorsed...

December 9, 2022
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November 2022
30Nov

Kenya. Employers want new NSSF rates spread over five years

Employers want the proposed increase in the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions spread over  five-years, even as they call for more consultation. The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) says this will enable employers and employees adjust to accommodate the new rates, further adding that it should be effected based on “statutory minimums.” This comes as the government continues to push for an increase on the monthly contributions through the NSSF Act.  It seeks to raise this from the Sh200 flat...

November 30, 2022
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18Nov

Make pension schemes attractive: a call for Kenyan pension funds

Pension funds in Kenya are not attracting enough savers from both the formal and informal sector because of low penetration, experts say. A publication of the Zamara Kenya Pensions Watch 2022, shows coverage of the current pension in Kenya is at around 17.7 per cent of the total employed population. About 83.2 per cent of employed Kenyans in the informal sector have no access to any form of pension savings. Speaking at a Pension Trustee Seminar, organised by Zamara, former education CS...

November 18, 2022
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04Nov

Kenya. Pension assets fall Sh33bn on bonds, equities hit

Pension industry assets under management shrank by Sh33.4 billion in the six months to June on the back of paper losses on equities and government bond holdings, representing the first half-year decline in retiree assets in 19 years. The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) said the contraction in the assets by 2.16 percent to Sh1.514 trillion was due to volatility in the financial markets and the political campaigns ahead of August’s general elections. The value of government bond holdings by the industry...

November 4, 2022
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