National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah has advised Members of Parliament (MPs) not to be bullied by Kenyans threatening to send them home in 2027.
Speaking during parliamentary proceedings on the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to increase MPs’ contributions to their pension scheme on Friday, November 29, 2024, Ichung’wah urged his colleagues to maintain focus on improving their lives after retirement.
“You go home every day, so nobody should threaten you that you will go home because you will go to your home, the question you should ask yourself when you are here, the day you are not serving as a member of parliament, how shall things be for you so that you don’t feel threatened by anybody,” he said.
The Kikuyu MP stressed that lawmakers should focus on ensuring that their pensions are okay so that they can easily sustain themselves once they retire, advising that one should contribute more whenever they can.
“You will go home and continue living your life as you lived as MP, take care of yourselves, and pensions, contribute to NSSF and contribute more to NSSF if you can, because that is what will take care of you when you are home and not working because inevitably, you are growing old, a time will come when you choose to retire, you won’t have to go home because somebody threatened you, and when you choose it is what you contributed to your pension that will take care of you,” Ichung’wah stated.
He went on to state that he contributes an average of Ksh59,328 to the Parliamentary health pension scheme every month.
“I was checking my last payslip and discovered that every month I contribute Ksh59,328.50 to the Parliamentary pension scheme. This is cash deducted over and above the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). There’s a misconception that we pass laws that don’t affect us. We know better,” the vocal lawmaker said.
Adding;
“It’s true to tell the public especially the fourth estate who will say MPs increase their pension. This is money we’re contributing from what we’re already been paid.”
