Gov't owes retirees over Sh108 billion in unpaid pensions

The government owes retirees a total of Sh108.1 billion in unpaid pensions and gratuities, with only half of the allocated funds released this financial year, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has revealed.

The delayed pension payments are causing serious hardship among retirees, including security officers and teachers.

Nyakang’o told the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee that by March 31, 2025, just 52% of the pension allocation had been disbursed, Sh115.14 billion out of the required Sh223.15 billion.

This falls short of the expected 75 per cent disbursement mark for that period.

"Retirees are suffering. There is a huge amount of money owed to them, yet they have served this country their whole lives," Nyakang’o said, stressing the urgent need for timely pension payments.

She also disclosed that during the first nine months of the 2024/2025 financial year, the government processed pension claims worth Sh131.92 billion but released only Sh101.78 billion.

This created a funding gap of Sh30.14 billion.

Additionally, a request for Sh11.66 billion to fund government contributions to the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS) was still pending by the end of March.

Nyakang’o highlighted that the pension funding crisis is not new.

In the 2023/2024 financial year, the government failed to fully meet pension obligations, resulting in a Sh23 billion shortfall that has been carried into the current year.

"This carried-over balance adds to the fiscal pressure. Pensions must be treated as first-charge expenditures to protect retirees’ livelihoods and uphold legal obligations," she said.

Her statement came after MPs, including Balambala’s Abdi Shurie and Emuhaya’s Omboko Milemba, expressed concern over the suffering of thousands of unpaid retirees.

"Kindly tell us the real situation because workers, including security officers and teachers, are dying without receiving their dues," Milemba said.