Ruto Announces Major Change for Retiring Teachers and Public Servants
President William Ruto has told the National Social Security Fund and all the other govt bodys looking after retirement benefits that public workers should get their benefits within 10 days of hanging up their work boots.
Ruto dropped the bombshell during the World Teachers’ Day shindig at Kasarani on Monday, 5th of October – the week of the World Teachers’ Day – saying his reforms are aimed at fixing a long standing problem which has seen some retirees waiting months and months to get the cash to which they are entitled.
The President said that, although this new target will take a bit of time to actually be implemented, the agencies involved are gunning for the 10-day turnaround within the next 3 months.
Ruto Sets 10-Day Target for Retirement Benefits
Ruto said that the agencies dealing with retirement payments had given him a commitment that teachers will from now on get their dosh much sooner after they retire.
“Agencies responsible for upfronting retirement cash have assured me that, within the next 3 months, we will be able to pay out a teacher’s retirement fund within 10 working days of them retiring,” Ruto said.
And, if the President has his way, the experience of retiring teachers and other public servants is going to change for the better.
New Pension System Expected to Reduce Delays
Ruto linked the get-the-cash-sooner plan to the rollout of the Pension Management Information System (PMIS) – an IT system designed to digitise and sort out pension administration in no time.
At the moment, officials are uploading lots of records into the system, which should make it a heck of a lot easier for anyone to check on their pension records and get the cash they are owed.
The National Treasury’s pension department is responsible for all the pension and death gratuities and other retirement benefits owed to public officers and their dependants.
The Treasury has also set up some digital pension services, including an online pensioner self registration portal – think of it as a pension app.
Ruto Says Teachers Should Not Chase Retirement Money
The President said that people shouldn’t have to go running around from one government office to the next, trying to sort out the status of their retirement benefits.
“We want to sort out this culture of public servants, retired and otherwise, running round the block to get their hands on the cash they’ve earned,” Ruto said.
The hope is that this new system will make it much easier for the government bodys to get the records right and get the cash out to people in good time, with a bit less messing about with paper files and all.
Retirement Benefits Target to Cover More Public Workers
Ruto spoke at a teachers’ event but made it clear these reforms aren’t just for teachers, anyone public workers in general can expect some relief.
He told the NSSF and other benefit agencies to make sure public workers get paid within 10 days, full stop.
This means the proposed reform covers a broader group of public servants, but the specifics process and benefits will vary depending on the pension or retirement scheme you’re on.
Why Retirement Benefits Have Faced Delays in Kenya
For ages now, pension processing has been held back by loads of administrative issues stuff like incomplete forms, records not adding up and good old fashioned record-keeping headaches.
The shift towards digital pension management is supposed to sort out some of these problems by bringing all the pension records and processing under one roof.
The National Treasury has already been working on creating an integrated Pension Management Information System which includes moving data around and hooking it into existing systems.
So with Ruto’s latest announcement, it looks like they’re really pushing to use the digital system to cut the time between retirement and payment even further.
How to Claim NSSF Retirement Benefits
NSSF currently gives out retirement benefits to members who qualify that’s anyone who has reached retirement age or retired from regular employment.
According to NSSF, to get an age/retirement benefit, you need to send over documents like a certified letter saying you’re retiring, a certificate of service or your termination letter, your NSSF membership card, identification to prove who you are and bank details so they can pay you electronically.
NSSF also mentions a withdrawal benefit for people 50 or older who’ve retired from regular paid work.
So the 10 day target Ruto announced will be in addition to all this.
What the 10-Day Directive Means for Retiring Teachers
For teachers, the proposed changes could mean less hassle chasing after retirement docs and payment.
Ruto wants the government to have the pension system set up in a way that can prep for retirement without the retiree having to keep making repeat visits to government offices.
But its worth noting the President has set a three month mark for this to happen by, so the 10 day turnaround isn’t a cast-iron guarantee.
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Ruto Announces Major Change for Retiring Teachers and Public Servants
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