A government proposal to clear KSh2.8 billion in pension arrears owed to retired staff of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) has triggered sharp criticism in the Senate, with lawmakers branding the phased repayment plan as unjust and insensitive to elderly beneficiaries.
Appearing before the Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee, Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala disclosed that a reconciliation exercise had confirmed that KSh2.85 billion remains unremitted to the TUK Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (SRBS). The scheme, which is under liquidation, has left hundreds of retirees stranded without access to their savings.
Dr. Inyangala explained that the State Department for Higher Education intends to offset the debt gradually, allocating Sh500 million in the 2025/26 financial year and spreading the remainder across the 2026/27 and 2027/28 budgets. She added that the government is simultaneously working to establish a new pension scheme for current staff while concluding the liquidation process of the collapsed fund.
But senators rejected the plan outright, arguing that the retirees, many now in their seventies,cannot be expected to wait until 2030 to receive their dues.
“You are telling somebody who is already a pensioner to wait until 2030. Are we so heartless? These are retirees; they have nothing. Why can’t you commit to clearing this pension in the next financial year?” Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu asked.
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Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogenie said the proposed KSh500 million allocation was grossly inadequate.
“Most of these pensioners are over 70 years old. Spreading payment over three years is essentially saying you want them to die without enjoying their pension. The Sh500 million is too little,” he told the committee.
The pension crisis stems from longstanding structural funding gaps dating back to TUK’s transition from the Kenya Polytechnic. Inyangala noted that when the institution became a university in 2009, it absorbed 652 staff members but the government stopped funding salaries for lecturers previously paid under the Teachers Service Commission. Capitation continued at polytechnic levels, creating a mismatch between payroll obligations and government support.
This mismatch, she said, generated a sustained deficit estimated at Sh13 billion between 2009 and 2025. The university was forced to meet statutory deductions and third‑party obligations despite consistently receiving less than its payroll requirements.
The collapse of the TUK Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme has been a slow‑burning crisis. Placed under interim administration in 2015 after failing to meet mandatory thresholds under the Retirement Benefits Authority Act, the scheme was formally wound up in July 2024 following insolvency. Regulators cited multiple failures, including non‑compliance with the 100 percent minimum funding level required for pension schemes.
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University Academic Staff Union (UASU) TUK chapter secretary Fred Sawenja told senators that the Ministry of Education had long been aware of the non‑remittance problem but failed to act with urgency. He warned that retirees and staff nearing retirement risk losing their lifetime savings, with many already sliding into poverty.
By Masaki Enock
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