Kenyans Need To Map Their Retirement Path

When people get employed, they forget they will retire at some point in the future. People forget that their employers will one day ask them to resign. Retirement is as inevitable as death. It comes whether one likes it or not and it hits both those in the informal and formal sector.

The majority of people assume that the money they are currently earning will keep flowing into their pockets forever. That is why they spend every penny as it comes. By the time they discover that they are about to retire, it is too late. This hits them hard.

A good chunk of retirees die within a short period of time because of stress. This is because they retire with nothing to fall back to. Some even retire while still living in rentals. Retirement should not come as an accident but as something that someone should look forward to.

The question is, why should someone who is earning a good salary retire a miserable man or woman? The answer lies in planning. Remember if one has no planning then he or she is planning for nothing else but to fail. Many people lack a plan.

Many people fail to plan for their retirement. The first thing to know is that if you are an employee, the passage of every single day brings you closer to your retirement. This should work as a wake-up call to help one plan for the days to come.

The truth is, age has a way of creeping up on us. One minute you’re running away from the teacher on duty in primary school and the next your grandchildren are running circles around you. Time really doesn’t stop for any man.

If you think saving for retirement once you hit your fifties is a good idea, you probably should think again. This will likely cost you big time. You will have wasted the chance to take advantage of the time value of money which works better the earlier you start. If you can start saving while in your twenties then you’d be better off.

The truth is if you have thought about your retirement, then chances are you have considered saving in a pension scheme or you already are a member of one. There is always a need for one to have a map of an investment plan for retirement.

To chat about the way forward on how Kenyans can start mapping the best retirement path, the 9th annual retirement conference is taking place in Malindi courtesy of Zamara Group. The three-day conference is bringing together different stakeholders within and without the pension and insurance sector.

“Our theme for this conference is Mapping the Best Retirement Path. We have curated over the 3-days, carefully selected topics and discussions to be made by various speakers, who are experts in their own area, with the sole purpose of empowering you Trustees and by extension, your members.

Ladies and gentlemen, all through the sessions, I would like to draw your attention to the benefit that will absolutely go well beyond the primary purpose of the conference which is to learn, interact, network, and exchange the latest up to date information within the sector,” said Mr. Sundeep Raichura, the Group CEO of Zamara.

In Kenya, the current retirement age stands at 60 years but unfortunately, most people in the informal sector get to that age without a retirement package. Kenya’s informal sector represents an important part of the economy while playing a major role in employment creation, production, and income generation.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2021, noted that during the review period, informal sector employment is estimated to have contracted 14.5 million jobs and accounted for 83.4 percent of the total employment outside of small-scale agriculture.

This new scenario is explained by massive job losses during the pandemic as more households and individuals joined informal entrepreneurship. One of the reasons for the low uptake of the pension schemes is the perception that pension services are designed for people in the formal sector.

There is also a lack of awareness of various individual pension schemes that are provided by various companies in the country. Another reason for the low uptake would be due to the structure of the retirement benefits system in the country supported by the non-compelling laws around retirement savings.

Kenya’s vision 2030 targets the provision of high quality of life for all citizens. There are both public and privately run retirement schemes in the country but most citizens are subscribed to NSSF especially those in the formal sector.

Planning for retirement is a very important decision that every person should make. With a good savings plan, anyone in the informal sector is sure of financial freedom and security upon retirement from active participation in wealth creation.

“In our lives, we need road maps to keep guiding us to get to our desired destinations. Whether it is saving for the home purchase, saving for the children’s education, saving for medical, and of course saving for retirement.

These journeys are no different. There are diversions that come our way that derail us from our intended destination. All is not lost. We can remap our path Yes, we all need a road map to get to the desired destination of a financially secure future. Not only do we need a road map close with us; we need to constantly update it and importantly consult it frequently to make sure we are on the right path and remain on the right path,” said Mr. Sundeep.