The government owes retirees a staggering Ksh108.1 billion in unpaid pensions and gratuities, even as new data reveals that Ksh9.5 billion was spent on both local and foreign travel in the first half of the 2024/2025 financial year.

This was revealed in documents tabled before the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o, who raised alarm over the delayed disbursement of pension funds, which she termed as “worrying.”

As of March 31, 2025, only 52 per cent of the pension allocation had been disbursed—Sh115.14 billion out of a total requirement of Ksh223.15 billion—falling short of the expected 75 per cent mark for that period.

“Retirees are suffering. There is a huge amount of money owed to them, yet they have served this country their whole lives,” Nyakang’o said.

She expressed concern that despite the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collecting revenue earmarked for pensions, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) continue to bypass fiscal discipline by rushing to request emergency funds under Article 223 of the Constitution, which allows spending beyond what was approved in the Appropriation Act.

These unplanned expenditures, she said, deplete funds needed for mandatory obligations like pensions.

Nyakang’o further disclosed that during the first nine months of FY 2024/2025, the government processed ordinary and commuted pensions worth Ksh131.92 billion, yet only Ksh101.78 billion was released by the exchequer, leaving a funding gap of Ksh30.14 billion.

Additionally, a pending request of Ksh11.66 billion to fund the government’s contributions to the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS) remained unmet by the end of March.

She also revealed that the pension funding crisis has been carried over from the previous financial year.

In FY 2023/2024, the government failed to meet its full pension obligations, resulting in a Sh23 billion shortfall rolled into the current fiscal year.

“This carried-over balance adds to the fiscal pressure. Pensions must be treated as first-charge expenditures to protect retirees’ livelihoods and uphold legal obligations,” Nyakang’o stressed.

Her comments came in response to concerns raised by Balambala MP and Committee Chair Abdi Shurie, and Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba, who decried the suffering of thousands of unpaid retirees, including police officers and teachers.

“Kindly tell us the real situation because workers, including security officers and teachers, are dying without receiving their dues,” Milemba said.

Nyakang’o took issue with ongoing expenditures on non-priority items, particularly foreign travel and benchmarking trips, calling them a major contributor to budget deficits and domestic borrowing.

She cited a recent experience during a work trip to Istanbul, Turkey, where she discovered a room filled with Kenyans attending a conference organised by a Kenyan national.

“I was shocked. Why couldn’t the meeting be held in Mombasa instead? It’s unacceptable that we continue to spend on such luxuries while retirees go unpaid,” she remarked.

Nyakang’o insisted that if government agencies cut back on foreign trips and other discretionary spending, it would be possible to start the fiscal year without a deficit and reduce reliance on domestic borrowing.

“The budget always starts with a deficit, yet some of the expenditures—like foreign travel—can be avoided. We must adopt a more prudent use of public resources,” she said.