How new digital system seeks to ease pensioners’ pain
National Treasury Secretary/Director of Pensions, Michael Kagika, speaks during the East African Pensions Conference and Expo 2025, themed "Retirement Planning; Gets Started Now" at KICC, Nairobi, on October 23, 2025.
Pension services for retired civil servants will be processed electronically from May 1, 2026, as the government moves to eliminate delays and enhance security for beneficiaries.
The National Treasury is set to issue a circular on the full migration of pension administration to the electronic Pension Management Information System (e-PMIS), complete with an annexure answering frequently asked questions on pensions.
Currently, pension processing is bogged down by paperwork that passes through multiple offices, leading to long delays and financial strain for retirees.
“The proposed date, subject to the circular being approved, is May 1, 2026, and what is expected to happen is that only claims submitted on the electronic platform will be processed,” Director of Pensions at the National Treasury, Michael Kagika, told the National Assembly Committee on Implementation.
He said the government had successfully piloted and is now rolling out the e-PMIS across all ministries, departments and agencies. Under the new system, pension claims cannot be submitted unless all mandatory data fields, including the KRA PIN, national identification details and bank account information, are fully completed and verified.
Once fully implemented, retirees will be able to submit their claims online, receive automated approvals, and monitor their pensions from home.
“All old claims previously received will be processed in the old system to conclusion and upon finalisation, the data will be migrated to the new system,” he told the Committee, chaired by Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala, during a meeting on status updates of House resolutions on public petition 46 of 2023 regarding payment of retirement benefits to teachers.
Digitization of pension processing is expected to streamline processes, enhance accountability, and improve transparency.
The system, expected to eliminate unnecessary visits, cut backlogs and improve service delivery, is set to particularly benefit teachers, who make up the largest single group in Kenya’s public workforce.
Mr Kagika explained that the e-PMIS will grant those exiting public service a “smooth handshake” from the in-service payroll to the pensions payroll.
“We anticipate that once fully rolled out, it will be possible that as long as a person has retired before the payroll cycle has closed on the 15th, then it should be possible for them to enter that subsequent payroll now from the pension side,” he said.
Delays in processing retirement dues for teachers have remained a longstanding concern, with some retirees reportedly dying before accessing their benefits because of the bureaucratic nature of the process.
In a 2023 petition to Parliament, Mwatate MP Peter Mbogoh asked for intervention on the matter, noting that the non-payment of retirement benefits and pensions has subjected teachers to living in deplorable conditions.
Parliament recommended that the National Treasury, in collaboration with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), look into the process efficiency, digitization, data management, communication, fraud mitigation, policy development and institutional capacity.
The TSC said delays often arise when retiring teachers or beneficiaries submit statutory documents late, fail to provide complete supporting paperwork, or become entangled in succession disputes in cases involving deceased teachers.
TSC Acting Chief Executive Evaleen Mitei said the Commission had put in place measures to address the challenges and ensure teachers’ pension claim papers are processed within a reasonable time.
“The Commission in collaboration with the Director of Pensions, National Treasury, has established a Treasury Pension office at the Commission's headquarters to fast-track the verification and submission of the teachers' pension claims for payment to the Director of Pensions,” she said.
She added that to ensure that the retired teachers stay apprised, the Commission releases weekly publications on its website of all cases submitted to the Director of Pensions, National Treasury.
“This complements the letters written to the respective teachers giving updates as to when the respective claims have been submitted for payment to the Director of Pensions, National Treasury,” she said.
Data from the TSC shows that between the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 financial years, 16,088 teachers retired through natural attrition.
The Commission has processed 12,864 of these cases in the review period, forwarding 10,388 to the National Treasury for payment, while 2,476 remain at the Commission awaiting verification before submission.
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