Pension regulator sets desk at Huduma Centre in membership drive

By WACHIRA MWANGI

The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) has launched a service desk at Huduma Centre in Mombasa, the first in planned expansions in the country as it works to raise pension coverage.

The retirement regulator is planning to extend services to counties in its bid to decentralize and grow the low pension coverage in the country.

RBA also plans to set up another desk in Eldoret later this year before moving to other parts of the country.

"This is a fulfillment of the greater constitutional duty of extending government services to the counties and citizens at the grassroots," RBA market conduct manager Anne Mugo said during the launch.

The current strategic plan that runs to 2024 looks to expand RBA’s reach to 8 regional Huduma centres.

The pension sector in Kenya comprises more than 1,067 active retirement benefit schemes in both the public and private sectors and a membership of about 3.4 million.

RBA has been trying to increase its membership, especially in the informal sector and assets held by pension schemes in counties as part of efforts to grow retirement savings in the country.

"Residents will get technical assistance on our ICT Tools such as getting information from the RBA Website, online filing of statutory returns and use of the whistleblowing portal,” Mr Mugo said.

“There will also be advisory services on the importance of filing or updating beneficiary nomination forms, sensitization on new legislative changes affecting the retirement benefits industry."

The pension industry currently recorded assets of over Sh1.5 trillion as of December 2021, up from a paltry Sh44.5 billion in 2,000.

The authority is also in the process of establishing an integrated service platform to help avert the loss of retirement benefits by members.

The platform is expected to have an information repository that can be accessed by pensioners and schemes.
Tracing members’ contributions, especially for those that changed employments and have benefits in multiple schemes has been among the sector’s biggest challenges.