More pain for employees as new NSSF rates set to come into force

National Social Security Fund in Nairobi. The revised rates are anchored in the NSSF Act of 2013 but implemented in phases. [File, Standard]

Millions of salaried workers, already reeling from a raft of enhanced statutory deductions, are bracing for a further squeeze on their take-home pay from February 1, 2026, as a scheduled increase in National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions takes effect.

The hike, defended by the President William Ruto government as a critical step toward boosting the country’s national savings and future pension security, translates into immediate financial pain for millions, worsening a cost-of-living crisis and forcing difficult trade-offs between daily survival and long-term security workers, analysts say.