February 2020

25Feb

Kenya. RBA in fresh bid to protect early retirees from spending their pension savings before the age of 55

Pensions regulator RBA has embarked on a fresh bid to block employees retiring early from accessing half of their employer’s pension contribution. The Retirement Benefits Authority wants the law allowing employers to keep pensioner’s contributions until they are 55-years-old to be implemented. Read also Nigeria. Investing pension funds: Worries, prospects by stakeholders Through Legal Notice No88 of 2019, the National Treasury sought to amend the Retirement Benefits (Occupational Retirement Benefits Schemes) Regulations 2000, to effect the changes. Read...

February 25, 2020
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January 2020

22Jan

IMF warns of Kenya’s pensions time bomb

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of a ticking time bomb in Kenya’s pension sector as the gap between retirement dues and actual savings continues to grow wider. Kenya, which in 2009 opted to delay the implosion by raising the retirement age for civil servants from 55 to 60, is now facing pension obligations that have ballooned to Sh2.6 trillion — about 30 percent of GDP. This is much higher than what Kenyans pay as taxes. The country’s...

January 22, 2020
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November 2019

22Nov

Kenya. Pension crisis as 50,000 government staff retire

The retirement of about 50,000 civil servants is burdening taxpayers after the pension bill jumped by 63.03 percent or Sh10 billion in the first four months to October as the Treasury raised the red flag over the rising expense. Read also Less than 10pc Kenyans to retire comfortably on pension Treasury data shows that public pension expenses stood at Sh27.8 billion in the four months to October compared to Sh17.06 billion a year earlier — making it the fifth largest...

November 22, 2019
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19Nov

Less than 10pc Kenyans to retire comfortably on pension

Less than a tenth of pension schemes are providing sufficient benefits to comfortably sustain members in retirement, an actuarial consulting firm says, revealing the pain retirees undergo despite making lifetime savings while employed. According to the survey done by Actuarial Services East Africa (Actserv), retirees in defined benefit schemes have it worse than their counterparts in contributory schemes. The firm measured the adequacy of benefits using a ratio of income after retirement to income immediately before retirement, with an...

November 19, 2019
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October 2019

16Oct

Kenya. Pensions uptake low as returns increase

The country’s pension penetration remains at a 15 per cent low despite returns growing at an average 10.7 per cent annually over the past six years. According to a report by Cytonn Asset Managers the retirement benefits assets under management in the pension funds industry grew eight per cent to Sh1.2 trillion as of December 2018. The report shows fund managers are still relying on traditional, low-risk assets such as government securities and equities which cumulatively accounted for 56.7...

October 16, 2019
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September 2019

27Sep

Linking financial services and social protection for resilience: lessons from Kenya

Climate-related shocks and stresses threaten people and communities around the world, compounding existing poverty and vulnerability and undermining long-term development. National and international actors are searching for new and better ways to help people deal with increasing climate risks and, in turn, support long-term resilience. One potential way of doing this is to facilitate access to, and use of, adequate financial services such as savings, loans and insurance in underserved communities. The role of social protection (SP) programmes in helping...

September 27, 2019
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13Sep

Kenya. Treasury to introduce risk policy for financial markets

•The micro-prudential banking policy is expected to mitigate risks likely to emerge during downturns in key sectors including banks, pension schemes, insurance and capital markets to safeguard capital and liquidity adequacy. •According to National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani, the banks should assess the market to ensure that competition viewed as a sign of market dynamism, does not pose as a potential source of new risks that will have adverse consequences in the future. The National Treasury is formulating...

September 13, 2019
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August 2019

21Aug

Statistics indicate more Kenyans now willing to save

According to industry figures, there has been enormous appetite for a pension which has seen the industry total pension funds under guaranteed arrangement grow from Ksh. 163 billion to 183.7 billion a growth rate of 12.7% despite the heavy withdrawals during the same period which was as a result of mergers & acquisition and closure of big stores like Nakumatt in 2018. It is projected that pension under this class will grow to 300 billion shillings by 2020...

August 21, 2019
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01Aug

Kenya. 3 Fintech firms admitted into CMA regulatory sandbox

Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has admitted three fintech firms into its regulatory sandbox, allowing them to live test innovative solutions with the capacity to deepen and enhance the efficiency of capital markets. The firms include Innova Limited, Pezesha Africa Limited and a third firm which remains anonymous. Innova will test its cloud-based data analytics platform designed for use by Investors, Fund Managers, Custodian Banks, Actuaries, Pension Administrators and Regulators. Pezesha will test an internet-based crowd-funding platform through which investors...

August 1, 2019
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July 2019

15Jul

Kenya: We Are Not Paying Ghosts, Pensions Chief Tells Auditor

The Pensions Department has accused Auditor-General Edward Ouko of misrepresenting facts by saying Sh67.9 billion was paid to ghost retirees. Mr Ouko, in a report tabled at the National Assembly two weeks ago, said individuals at the National Treasury may have taken advantage of the weaknesses in the Pensions Management Information System (PMIS) to authorise irregular payments. Of the money paid out, some 962 claimants received Sh1.6 billion -- which was made way before the end of their service...

July 15, 2019
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