Counties seek approval for new pension scheme

Retirement Benefits Authority chief executive Edward Odundo PHOTO: COURTESY

Counties have submitted a proposal to the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) seeking to adopt a new pension scheme for their workers.

Counties want to be the owners and sponsors of newly formed County Pension Scheme (CPF) and take charge of the affairs of the scheme through a Board of Trustees.

According to Council of Governors’ Chairman Peter Munya, counties are expected to submit their nominees for the CPF board, to pave way for appointments.

He added that he expects the fund to grow following an agreement across counties to enrol all employees into the scheme starting June 2016.

“We have been engaged in reviewing the structural framework of the retirement benefits schemes serving the county governments with a view to creating one strong entity to serve all county workers across the 47 counties in the long term,” he said.

Munya said the decision by counties to adopt CPF as a pension scheme is to provide a sustainable source of income for their members in retirement and beyond since counties will be actively involved.

Counties have also decided to merge the administration services of the existing schemes to avoid duplication and wastage of public resources in competition by Lapfund and Laptrust.

“The schemes will continue to exist, with Laptrust and Lapfund operating only as closed schemes and the County Pension as an active scheme where new employees will be enrolled going forward,” explained Munya.

According to Munya, having uniform norms and standards across all counties will allow for portability of benefits and smooth movement of employees across counties.