A pension deduction on a county worker’s payslip shows that money has been taken from their salary. It does not, by itself, confirm that the money reached their retirement scheme.
That distinction sits at the heart of Kenya’s county pension crisis: employees can work for years believing their contributions are building retirement savings, only to discover gaps when they check their records or apply for benefits.
The Parliamentary Budget Office’s Budget Watch 2026 puts consolidated county pension liabilities at approximately Sh115.95 billion. The amount includes principal, interest, penalties and actuarial deficits—not just deductions withheld from employees’ salaries.
Where the largest liabilities sit
The report’s county table records the following amounts:
| County | Reported pension liability |
|---|---|
| Nairobi | Sh48.21 billion |
| Mombasa | Sh19.06 billion |
| Garissa | Sh3.69 billion |
| Narok | Sh3.10 billion |
| Kisii | Sh3.08 billion |
Nairobi and Mombasa together account for about 58 per cent, calculated from the table.
The table is dated December 31, 2025, although the accompanying narrative refers to December 2026. Because of that inconsistency, these figures should be understood as liabilities reported by PBO, rather than independently confirmed balances outstanding today.
Why resolving the debt has taken time
An official parliamentary account of an August 5 Senate committee meeting shows that confirming what individual counties owed remained a significant obstacle.
Treasury told senators that only 10 county executives and nine county assemblies had confirmed their pension liabilities by June 18, 2026.
The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds rejected a request to extend the multi-agency task force’s mandate by another four months. It directed Treasury to resubmit the report and supporting correspondence within 14 days, and planned to hear from Nairobi and Mombasa before finalising its own report.
This distinction matters: an assessment of a county’s debt does not necessarily mean that the county has accepted the figure or agreed on how to settle it.
What the proposed solution would change
The task force recommended prioritising pension contributions from county revenue, automating remittances through payroll systems and establishing debt-settlement agreements.
Treasury acknowledged that consultations with Nairobi and Mombasa remained inconclusive. It also said the proposed settlement agreement required legal clearance from the Attorney-General. These were proposed measures; the parliamentary account does not establish that repayments under them had begun.
PBO also describes proposals to standardise interest calculations using the average annual 91-day Treasury bill rate and introduce repayment schedules based on the size of liabilities.
What county workers should check now
Workers do not have to wait until retirement to examine their pension records.
The Retirement Benefits Authority says scheme members have a right to annual benefit statements showing accrued benefits, information about their scheme and access to summaries of audited accounts. Members can also question anomalies and lodge complaints.
A useful starting point is to obtain a statement directly from the scheme administrator and compare it with payslips for the same period.
Ask the administrator to identify contributions received, missing months and any outstanding employer contributions. Where the records differ, seek a written explanation from both the administrator and the county’s payroll office. Keep copies of payslips, statements and correspondence.
Where to take an unresolved complaint
RBA provides a complaints portal for retirement-benefit disputes. Its published service charter lists scheme-member complaints as free, with acknowledgement within seven working days and a response within 30 working days. Those timelines concern complaint handling; they do not guarantee recovery of unpaid contributions within that period.
Members also have rights to challenge scheme decisions through the regulator and, where applicable, the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal.
For a worker reviewing their retirement position, the essential question is therefore straightforward: does the pension scheme’s record match the deductions on the payslip?
