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Jua kali person should save for retirement, just like someone with a payslip


Dear informal sector investor,

Here’s to hoping the hustle is taking you well. Keep the grind going. Keep relying on the sweat of your brow.

One question, though: Are you saving for your retirement? Because as sure as day follows night, old age will come knocking someday.

There is a day when you will not be strong enough to toil and to chase deals. But there will be expenses to be met. Medical bills will be rushing at you and basic needs will have to come from somewhere.

That is why you need to approach one of the companies that have pension products and ask them how you can save for retirement. A good place to start is the top insurance companies around. Most of them have retirement savings products. There is also a long list of private companies that save your money for your sunset days.

The only way to know if your money will be safe is to confirm whether that firm is regulated by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA).

The authority uses a compliance-based supervisory model in overseeing the pension industry. RBA is guided by the Retirement Benefits Act that has been in place since 1997 and which was most recently revised in 2020.

Don’t know where to start? You can check which schemes are registered by following this link that will take you to the RBA website.

Dear investor, do you know how vital you are to the Kenyan economy? Statistics say the informal sector employed about 15.26 million Kenyans in 2021.

Compared to the total number of employed Kenyans, this means that the informal sector employed more than 80 percent of all employed Kenyans last year.

You see? The informal sector players are the drivers of the Kenyan economy. They need to have a more structured way of saving their pension. What’s more, the money set aside in a retirement scheme is invested and earns an interest. Therefore, by the time you will be eligible to receive it, you will get value for your money.

So, start now. Any amount saved, however small, will push you a long way in your sunset days.

Yours sincerely,
Smart Worker