Ombudsman Pressures Govt to Overhal Entire Pension System After Retirees Suffer

The Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) has called for a comprehensive overhaul of Kenya’s pension system to address long-standing delays and injustices affecting retirees.

In a press statement released on Thursday, CAJ directed the Director of the Pensions Department to process and pay all 144 pending claims within 60 days and submit a compliance report. Failure to do so would result in a notice to show cause as to why the officeholder should not be declared unfit for public office.

The commission further demanded that the Pensions Department prioritize clearing the backlog of pension cases and develop policy guidelines to streamline the processing and payment of benefits.

Additionally, CAJ urged the department to devolve pension services to county levels to reduce centralization, enhance accessibility, and expedite benefit processing for retirees across the country.

Additionally, the CAJ asked the government to establish and operationalise an efficient complaint-handling mechanism to address grievances promptly and ensure accountability in service delivery. 

”The Director of the Pensions Department should conduct a robust sensitization exercise on their pensions processes including grievance-handling mechanisms across the public sector with a particular focus on officers who are approaching retirement age,” CAJ stated. 

”The National Assembly should fast-track the finalization of the Pensions (Amendment) Bill, (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2022) which will establish clear timelines for pensions disbursement by providing for a 60-day window for processing payments.”

According to CAJ, the overhaul should address key issues such as systemic reforms, adopting the use of technology, and enforcing policies such as the digitization and automation of pension processes.

”The Commission also emphasizes the need to streamline bureaucratic procedures, improve data management and record-keeping practices, and strengthen accountability and oversight mechanisms within the Pensions Department,” CAJ shared in a statement.

CAJ further stated that if the government heeds their call, it will help resolve persistent delays in pension processing, ensuring that retirees and their beneficiaries receive their rightful benefits promptly and efficiently, without enduring years of unnecessary delays and financial hardship.

The commission further highlighted that, according to a report released last year, the Pensions Department ranked among the institutions with the highest number of complaints, receiving over 674 grievances.

Meanwhile, CAJ lashed out at the government over its failure to address the recommendations in its report on the pensions scheme. 

”Despite these recommendations, the Commission continues to receive a high number of complaints on non-remittance of retirement benefits, which complaints have ballooned over the last few years,” CAJ added. 

”The complaints have been lodged both by individual retired public officers and groups as illustrated in the cases of Teachers and Kenya Railways Staff. It is also a recurrent issue that is raised in public forums periodically organized by the Commission.”