Pension Plight Deepens — Retired Staff Slam RBA Over Delayed Payments; MPs Demand Immediate Action.

Retirees across Kenya are in uproar after revelations that state agencies have failed to clear backlog pension payments, leaving many former employees financially stranded. The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) is now under intense pressure from Parliament to explain why former workers have not received retirement benefits despite contributing throughout their years of service.

At a fiery parliamentary session Thursday, the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning demanded answers from the National Treasury and RBA leadership. Truths emerged that some state bodies, including the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC), have been operating pension schemes while ignoring legal obligations to remit employer contributions.

“We Paid Every Dime”: The Retirees’ Anguish

Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga highlighted cases of retired staff left destitute: “They deducted from our salaries, we paid our share, but now former employees are told there is no money for their payout.” Butula MP Joseph Oyula called the delays “sad and unacceptable,” noting that retirees’ savings should not be held hostage by bureaucratic failure.

In a particularly stark case, staff of the NWCPC are owed 60 percent of their pension benefits — a huge gap caused by missed remittances by their employer. Meanwhile names like Moi University surfaced, where retired lecturers claim pension arrears totalling KSh 4 billion.

RBA’s Response: Explanations and Commitments

RBA CEO Charles Machira defended the Authority, saying that technical and legal lapses among employer institutions have triggered an actuarial deficit. Some new water agencies formed after sector reforms failed to carry over proper pension remittance responsibility.

Machira told the parliamentary committee that the Authority has drafted amendments to the Retirement Benefits Act to empower the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to recover defaulted contributions under Section 53. Penalties for employers who fail to remit on time are also part of the proposed changes.

Institutional Pressure Mounts and Parliamentary Ultimatums

MP David Mboni, who chairs the finance committee, refused to accept RBA’s explanations without accountability: “If there is money missing, someone must explain. Former employees have no interest in excuses.” All current and former CEO officials of the defaulting agencies have been ordered to appear in Parliament on October 23, 2025, alongside Treasury officials. They must present clear breakdowns showing amounts deducted, amounts owed, and payments made.

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