Here's Why You Should Have A Retirement Saving Plan For Your Domestic Managers

Here’s Why You Should Have A Retirement Saving Plan For Your Domestic Managers

By Soko Directory Team / Published August 28, 2023 | 1:50 pm

We all know our lives revolve around our Domestic Managers (DMs), Watchmen(watchies), and the general home managers in the villages. These are the people who make our worlds tick in their own small but very big ways and much as once in so many times they play us dirty, we pray for their blessings because how could we survive without such humans?

That ‘soja’ who keeps vigil at the gate the whole cold night and the nanny who rocks your baby to sleep at 2356 Hours when you’re deep asleep?

Truth is, we might not be paying these awesome humans enough but again, we all hardly get paid enough, no? With the current tax that awaits our payslips at the end of the month, and a Kilogram of sugar that’s now retailing at Ksh. 250, who gets paid enough, in Kenya?

I know we don’t employ these people under any written contract hence this makes it hard to have sober financial conversations with them, including but not limited to saving for retirement. It’s funny and sad how retirement has been painted and defined as meant for people in formal employment only as if those in the informal sector never get old! We all get to senior citizenship, don’t we?

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Let’s agree on one thing – all of us deserve the retirement of our dreams, the best life when our knees are cracky and our backs can’t bend. But with the current crippled socio-economic situation, things might not get to what we dream of, later in life. Retirement plans are ideally meant for those in formal employment – this is what we’ve been customed to believe.

In 2013 the High Court of Kenya ruled and placed Domestic workers under the Employment Act hence they are covered by the National Minimum Wage including other provisions of the law. Registering our DMs, watchies, herdsmen, and errand boys for the National Social Security Fund – NSSF is something that we don’t take seriously but this is one of the greatest benefits that such low-wage employees can have in their old age.

I know you’d ask how often we should because, you know, these people can wake up after theory 7 days and say they’re leaving, so what happens? But again, is even us in the formal employment sector there’s the ‘hire and fire’ rule? That aside, don’t we resign and venture into other fields, or even get greener pastureland on the other side of the field? Instability or lack thereof should not worry you – you need to get that Domestic Manager registered for their retirement benefits.

Having money conversations with your employees and making them understand why having a saving plan for them, for their later years is a good idea is one of the best financial gifts you can offer to them. Encourage them to save for their children’s education, for Christmas shopping, and throw in the retirement benefits. Haba na Haba hujaza kibaba and their kibaba will be full by the time they hit fifty-five.

See, these people won’t be house girls forever. They won’t watch over gates or be gardens for the rest of their lives. Having a saving plan for them will see them enjoy benefits during their sunset years. The good thing is, that they can save as little as they can afford easily via their mobile phones. So hey, be a good employer and make a difference in your essential people’s lives – encourage them to save and be part of this plan, practically.

By Diana Makokha

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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