The growth of pension scheme membership to about 7.71 million workers .[File, Standard]
Increased pension scheme membership, now standing at about 7.71 million Kenyan workers, is a commendable achievement. Employees contribute to pension schemes with a promise that when they can no longer work, that money will be waiting for them. For a growing number of workers, that promise will be realised based on timely contributions. The law and regulations on pension schemes in Kenya provide guidelines and remedies on contributions.
The pensions sector has witnessed tremendous gains in the last 25 years, including transformation of public sector pension provision. Key among these is the shift to defined contribution pension schemes where members’ benefits are informed by investment returns. Therefore, for every shilling not remitted, a member loses the principal and also years of compounded investment income they can never recover. Employers should therefore make a deliberate effort to remit on time so as not to jeopardise the wellbeing of their employees.
The Retirement Benefits Authority’s data shows that unremitted contributions across Kenya’s retirement benefits sector stood at Sh73.14 billion in December 2025. These figures include real deductions taken from workers' payslips that were never transferred to the schemes meant to grow and safeguard them.
The credibility of the sector rests on employers’ remittance as a non-negotiable obligation rather than a discretionary expense to be deferred when budgets tighten.
When payroll deductions are directed towards other pressing costs, it implies quietly borrowing from their own employees' futures, without consent and without collateral.
It is worth reflecting on what the Ksh73.14 billion represents, not just as unpaid contributions but as foregone investment income. Pension schemes do not hold members' contributions in cash. Schemes invest members’ contributions in line with the investment guidelines issued by the RBA, and as per individual schemes’ prudent investment policy.
Had the Ksh73.14 billion been remitted to pension schemes, it would have been invested in a mix of asset classes including government securities, equities, immovable property, offshore, private equity and other alternatives. This will in turn deepen the capital markets and propel economic development arising from pension savings.