Improve pensions of retired civil servants

Retirement should be a period when people who contributed immensely during their prime working time can sit back and relax. They may not earn as much as they used to, but pensions should enable them to live fairly comfortably as a reward for their hard work.

However, this is the opposite of what some 80,000 retired civil servants are experiencing today, as they struggle to survive on a Sh4,000 monthly pension. Indeed, as has been pointed out, it is a dog’s life for most of these senior citizens, who are enduring a difficult time after diligently serving their country.

MPs, who have been moved by their plight, have asked the government to improve the payments to these suffering old men and women. The lawmakers have, through the National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee, asked the government to table within two months a report on the budgetary requirements that would see the 319,207 retired civil servants get some substantial increments to their monthly payments.

The Kenya National Association of Public Service Pensioners had asked Parliament for an increase to cushion pensioners against inflation and the rising cost of living. The association says the current monthly pension is insufficient to meet basic living expenses. Public servants have received low pay over the years despite rising inflation.

But several State agencies have cautioned that increasing payments to pensioners could further financially strain the government, which is already facing dire challenges. The retirees should not be denied what they deserve, as it would amount to an unfair and callous punishment, when they should be rewarded for the good work they did in their prime.

The government should also intensify the push for faster processing of the public sector workers’ benefits, including the target to pay retirement benefits within 10 days. Some retirees wait for over a year to get their terminal dues.
The authorities should end the prolonged frustration of low and delayed pension payments for retired civil servants.

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