Government launches digital headcount of retirees to remove ghost pensioners, reduce wasteful spending

In a bid to eliminate ghost pensioners, the government is conducting a fresh headcount of retirees through a newly introduced digital pension system.

This initiative, aimed at automating pension management and ensuring accurate and timely payments, is part of the government's broader strategy to reduce wasteful spending and streamline public finances.

Retired public servants, including teachers, civil servants, and personnel from the disciplined services, have been asked to update their registration details in the e-pension portal by February 28, 2024. Failure to do so will result in their suspension from the payroll.

This move is part of the government's budgetary support programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is focused on streamlining government expenditure and enhancing efficiency.

National Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo stated that the February deadline is non-negotiable.

"This deadline is not negotiable and it will serve as a vital statement in our effort to modernise and streamline pension administration," Kiptoo said.

"Kindly note that any pensioner who does not complete their registration by the specified date will face suspension from the payroll," he added.

Visit Huduma centres

To facilitate the process, pensioners have been advised to visit their nearest Huduma centres to update their details.

The digitisation of the pension system is expected to reduce inefficiencies that have plagued manual systems in the past, including delays in payments and inaccurate records.

The new system, which was launched in December last year, automates pension processes from start to finish and is designed to eliminate the risks of fraud and abuse associated with manual systems.

It includes features such as an online submission platform, a self-service portal, real-time monitoring, and enhanced security. The government believes that this will not only streamline pension administration but also enable the timely payment of pensioners.

In addition to improving the accuracy of pension disbursements, the government is using the digitisation process to conduct a headcount of all retirees.

This follows previous efforts where dead pensioners were found to be still receiving payments.

A 2019 census revealed that over 40,000 deceased civil servants remained on the government payroll, unnecessarily inflating the pension bill.

Rising pension payments

In the last financial year, the government spent Sh140.6 billion on pension payments, a figure that is projected to rise by more than a third to Sh186.2 billion in the current financial year.

The government is hoping that this new digital initiative will help reduce wasteful spending and improve the efficiency of pension administration.

The new pension management information system has been integrated with other government platforms, such as the Government Human Resources Information System (GHRIS), the Civil Registration Bureau, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the Registration of Persons Bureau.

The system will also be linked to the population registry to ensure that the data used for pension payments is accurate and consistent.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi also acknowledged the technical challenges that had delayed pension payments in the past.

"Technical issues and system downtime have contributed to delays in pension processing. Outages and system failures often resulted in significant backlogs," Mbadi said.

The new system is expected to address these issues and improve the overall efficiency of the pension payment process.

As the deadline approaches, pensioners across the country, particularly in rural areas, have been reminded to complete their registration on time to avoid any disruption in their pension payments.

For many retirees, delays in receiving their pension payments have been a longstanding concern, with some reporting that they have gone months without receiving their dues.