By KPC Reporter
The Office of the Ombudsman has issued a damning report exposing systemic failures in Kenya’s pension processing system, with a particular focus on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Pensions Department at the National Treasury, and the Treasury itself.
Dated January 9, 2026, and signed by Commission Chairperson Charles Dulo, the report calls for urgent reforms to protect the constitutional rights of retirees, especially teachers, to timely and dignified pension disbursement.
According to the report, the merger of pension functions left many Human Resource Officers without adequate training in pension administration.
The process demands precision, historical verification of employment records, and strict compliance with Treasury protocols.
However, the lack of structured and continuous training has led to frequent errors, repeated amendments, and a high rate of claim rejections.
County-level officers, in particular, were found to be ill-equipped to guide retiring teachers, resulting in poorly prepared files and compounding delays.
Technology failures were also highlighted. Although the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) was introduced in 2018 to streamline operations, it remains inconsistently applied and partially implemented.
Staff resistance, data inaccuracies, and limited confidence in the system have undermined its effectiveness.
Manual verification and physical movement of files continue to dominate the workflow, while the incomplete rollout of the Document Management Information System has entrenched reliance on paper records.
Supervisory oversight within pension units was described as weak, especially following the merger.
Several unit heads lacked pension expertise, and tracking systems were inconsistently applied with no centralized monitoring.
This has made it difficult to trace claim status, respond to inquiries, and enforce accountability.
The continued use of outdated postal addresses instead of modern communication channels like phone calls, SMS, or email has further exacerbated delays.
The report also criticizes the Pensions Department at the National Treasury, which serves as the final authority in pension benefit processing.
Persistent delays were attributed to the Department’s failure to implement Section 17 of the Public Finance Management Act, which mandates the timely release of funds from the Consolidated Fund for lawful obligations.
In the 2022/2023 financial year, a budget shortfall of KES 23.5 billion delayed approved claims, leaving many retirees in limbo.
Additional concerns include frequent downtimes and limited upgrades to the Pension Management Information System introduced in 2009, allegations of favoritism and bribery, slow verification of birth and death certificates, staffing shortages, inadequate equipment, poor working conditions, and low staff morale.
The “Keep-in-View” system was singled out as a major bottleneck, with files held indefinitely without designated officers to follow up.
In response, the Ombudsman has issued a series of recommendations aimed at modernizing pension workflows and restoring public confidence.
The TSC has been directed to submit pension claims early, establish a dedicated processing unit, upgrade HRMIS and DMIS systems, launch bio-data update campaigns, and create a pension dashboard.
The Pensions Department is urged to implement a verifiable First-In-First-Out payment system, while the National Treasury must ensure timely allocation and disbursement of pension funds.
“The continued reliance on outdated postal addresses, manual file movement, and inconsistent tracking systems is unacceptable in the digital age,” the Ombudsman stated.
“Retirement should not be a sentence to poverty. It is time to modernize and humanize our pension systems.”