Nyeri: Retired Kenya Broadcasting and Corporation staff who are owed pension by the corporation's retirement scheme can now heave a sigh of relief as the scheme's administrators pledged to release their dues by early 2026.
According to Kenya News Agency, the KBC Pension Scheme Chairman Martin King'asia stated that the scheme, which owes the retirees close to Sh1.1 billion in pension lumpsums, will start releasing the money in May 2026.
King'asia clarified that the over 130 retirees have been receiving their monthly pensions after the Retirement Benefit Authority authorized the release of monthly benefits pending the court's resolution on the fate of the pension lumpsum. "It is very painful for retirees out there who are yet to receive their pension from the scheme. We have worked round the clock and the Retirement Benefit Authority has permitted us to be paying monthly pension salaries even as the retirees wait for their lumpsums. Our members are expressing worry and disappointment and that is why we have put structures in place. We have also reached out to the government and we believe that within the next few months, everyone will have their pension lumpsums," said King'asia.
The chairman made his remarks in Nyeri at the sidelines of a member education day which brought together KBC pension scheme members from Nyeri, Garissa, Meru, and Nairobi counties. During the training session, the members were taught how to calculate their pensions and were appraised on the status of the scheme. "We have updated our members on the status of the pension scheme as of now. We have also reassured them that their money and their future is safe. There was also the need to know how their pensions are calculated and that has been executed fluently by the administrator of our pension scheme," he said.
King'asia placed the value of the scheme at about Sh5 billion and highlighted one of the biggest challenges the scheme is grappling with: the non-remittance of members' contributions by their employer. He noted that the scheme has put in place measures to ensure that going forward, retirees receive their benefits in time. Additionally, he mentioned that the scheme has sought government's assistance in addressing non-remittance and delayed remittance of pension contributions by KBC.