The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) in collaboration with the Ministry of National Treasury and Planning have held a public participation forum with the aim of structuring, implementing and evaluating the National Retirement Policy framework. The forum brings together various stakeholders, trustees, members of the retirement benefit schemes, pension providers and the public in efforts to improve the sector’s management and development as well as enhance the benefits coverage. The forum through the policy also seeks to mitigate old age poverty, smooth consumption of pensions and promote national saving as a secondary objective for development in the country. Speaking during the forum, at a Nairobi Hotel, RBA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charles Wachira, said the policy consolidated under the National Treasury aims to provide guidance by offering consistency, efficiency, accountability, clarity, credibility and validation in the sector. He added that the policy’s main objective is to raise the legal framework, empower, ensure and enable every Kenyan worker and retirees to live with dignity in their own social and economic lives. The CEO emphasised that the forum will not only help eliminate difficulty in accessing the retirement funds but also increase the 25 percent coverage rate compared to the 40 percent income generating ratio. ‘The outcome of this forum is to input contributions, views and frameworks that will enable us to incorporate the labour force who have inadequate income or nothing at all and assist them to have a comfortable retirement,’ said Wachira. Echoing his remarks, RBA Board of Directors Chairman Nelson Havi divulged that the policy will review the current retirement benefits system and put in place applicable laws that will ensure an affordable, sustainable, equitable and predictable regulatory and supervisory framework. He said, ‘The Kenya Kwanza government is set to intentionally get out of comfort with the ordinary purview of pension through public participation forums. We will see which areas of the National Retirement Benefits policy to improve.’

Source: Kenya News Agency