An individual pension plan is a good place to start. With as little as Sh1,000 one can save on chosen pension scheme for a guaranteed retirement income and enjoy good returns on investment as well as tax relief.
Like most African countries, Kenya boasts a youthful population of about 75.1 percent persons below 35 years (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2019 census). However, pension uptake by this demographic has been low, yet the youth have the benefit of enjoying the power of compounded interest over a longer saving period.
With unemployment rates in Kenya being at about 39.1 percent, most millennials live from hand to mouth and those employed are driven by consumption and peer pressure with little or no tendency to save.
Millennials also have a different job behavioural pattern often characterised by shorter employment contracts that necessitate regular job changing of up-to seven times before retirement.
This makes for random income patterns, higher appetite for risk and a lifestyle that lives for today.
Unique needs
The pitch for millennials to take up pension has to change, if it is to resonate with their unique needs.
Pension providers have to stop selling fear and sell motivation which gives the millennial control over their future and motivate them to start financial wellness earlier in life.
The financial products should also resonate with rites of passage in African culture such as weddings, paternity and education of children so that they are relevant to milestone seasons of life. Retirement benefits then become just a component of the entire well-being of an individual which offers a lifetime of dignity and addresses all the seasons of a person’s journey.
The Retirement Benefits Authority reports that there has been an increase in uptake of pension products and that the coverage stands at 20 percent, a growth from 15 percent. The increase in uptake of pension products can be partly attributed to financial literacy training by regulatory entities, service providers and other stakeholders in the sector who have enhanced awareness on the need to save for the future.
Unlike employment-based pensions, personal pensions offer flexibility in contributions and withdrawals. Members can choose the amount and frequency of contributions and for the withdrawals, the members do not have to wait until 50 or 60 years to access their money.
Starting point
A great enticement for millennials to start investing in pensions is the Retirement Benefits (Mortgage Loans) amendment regulations, 2020.
Under this new regulation, pension scheme members can use up to 40 percent of their accumulated benefits as collateral to secure a mortgage. The regulation allows members to use a portion of their accrued benefits to purchase a residential house from an institution.
The provision on use of accrued benefits is an amount not exceeding 40 percent of accrued benefits up to Sh7 million or the purchase price of the residential house.
Moreover, any additional voluntary contributions made by the member for augmentation of retirement benefits may be used to top up the benefits for purchase of a residential house. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to intentionally build an emergency fund and save for retirement.
An individual pension plan is a good place to start. With as little as Sh1,000 one can save on chosen pension scheme for a guaranteed retirement income and enjoy good returns on investment as well as tax relief.
Given that millennials have an intuitive knowledge of technology, pensions firms must leverage technology to enable convenient digitised submission of funds and transparent tracking of fund status.
Loyalty and reward programmes for pension schemes are yet to be fully explored. Such incentives will jump-start an uptrend of financial wellbeing and dignity for the millenials.
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