Kenya’s retirement benefits sector closed 2025 on a high note, with total assets under management crossing KSh2.83 trillion, even as the number of active schemes declined. This paints a picture of a sector that is shrinking in headcount but growing in value, driven by strong pension contributions, robust investment income and a wave of consolidation that is bringing smaller occupational schemes into larger umbrella funds. 

Fewer Schemes, Bigger Asset Accumulation 

In 2025, 946 retirement schemes submitted audited accounts, down from 950 in 2024. Small occupational schemes, typically established by individual employers, are increasingly merging into umbrella funds, which pool several employers under a single, professionally managed structure. The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) attributes the decline mainly to this consolidation trend, and to a slowdown in the registration of new occupational pension schemes. 

Despite fewer schemes submitting accounts, assets under management (AUM) surged by 26.8 per cent, rising from KSh2.23 trillion to KSh2.83 trillion over the period. That growth was driven primarily by sustained member and employer contributions, together with strong returns from the sector’s investments, particularly government securities and equities. 

Concentration at the Top 

The data show a sector where asset ownership is becoming increasingly concentrated. Just 55 schemes, representing only 5.8 per cent of all schemes that submitted audited accounts, now control assets worth at least KSh10 billion each. Collectively, these large schemes account for 62.9 per cent of the sector’s total assets, highlighting how a relatively small group of well-established funds dominates the industry’s asset base. 

At the other end of the spectrum, the number of small schemes is declining. Schemes managing less than KSh100 million fell from 233 to 214, while those managing between KSh100 million and KSh500 million declined from 329 to 318. The RBA attributes this trend to two factors: continued mergers into umbrella funds and the slower pace of new occupational pension scheme registrations, meaning fewer small entrants are replacing those that exit or consolidate. 

Schemes Climbing the Sector’s Ladder 

While the smallest schemes are disappearing, mid-sized and large schemes are moving into higher asset brackets as their fund values grow. Schemes holding between KSh10 billion and KSh50 billion increased from 37 to 51, while those in the KSh5 billion to KSh10 billion bracket rose from 34 to 38. This upward movement reflects the impact of steady contributions and investment gains, which are pushing established schemes into progressively larger asset categories even without any significant change in the total number of members they serve. 

Ten Years of Continuous Growth 

Looking over the past decade, the sector’s expansion is even more striking. Total pension assets have more than tripled, rising from KSh858 billion in 2015 to KSh2.83 trillion in 2025. The RBA identifies the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act, 2013 as one of the principal drivers of this growth. The progressive implementation of the Act has steadily increased statutory contribution limits, broadening the contribution base and channelling substantially greater inflows into the sector. 

Reinforcing this trend, the RBA’s latest industry brief shows assets under management reaching KSh2.81 trillion by December 2025, up 24.57 per cent year on year. During the second half of the year alone, the sector recorded KSh157.06 billion in new contributions and KSh122.87 billion in investment income and valuation gains. 

The Sector’s Landscape 

Defined contribution (DC) schemes continue to dominate Kenya’s pension landscape, accounting for more than 90 per cent of all retirement savings and dwarfing the defined benefit (DB) model, which has become increasingly rare as employers favour the more portable and transparent DC structure. Within this landscape, occupational pension schemes remain the single largest segment, holding KSh1.79 trillion in assets, more than any other category in the industry. 

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Kenya’s mandatory public pension scheme, has also continued to expand rapidly. Its net assets stood at KSh623.79 billion by December 2025, reflecting the fund’s growing importance within the retirement system following phased increases in statutory contribution limits. 

Government securities remain by far the sector’s preferred investment, accounting for approximately 52.14 per cent of total industry assets. The RBA’s December 2025 industry brief puts the figure at roughly KSh1.47 trillion, as schemes continue to favour the relative safety of Treasury bills and bonds over higher-risk asset classes such as offshore investments, private equity and listed equities, even though those alternatives recorded stronger percentage growth during the year. 

Conclusion 

Kenya’s pension sector entered 2026 with fewer schemes but considerably greater financial strength. The consolidation of small occupational schemes into umbrella funds, combined with the steady expansion of contribution limits under the NSSF Act, has produced an industry in which fewer, larger schemes now control the bulk of retirement savings. 

With assets under management having more than tripled over the past decade to KSh2.83 trillion, the sector’s growth trajectory points to an increasingly consolidated pension industry with a strong allocation to government securities. It remains central to Kenya’s long-term savings and capital markets, even as questions persist about extending retirement coverage to the roughly three-quarters of working Kenyans who remain outside the formal pension system.