Retirement Benefits Authority · RBA
Regulates and supervises every pension fund and retirement scheme in Kenya — NSSF, occupational schemes, individual retirement plans, umbrella funds.
Mandate
Established under the Retirement Benefits Act, 1997. Mandate: regulate and supervise the retirement benefits industry; protect the interests of members and sponsors; promote development of retirement benefits products; advise the Cabinet Secretary on policy.
How it works
Registers schemes, fund managers, trustees, custodians, and administrators. Sets investment guidelines (the Investment Policy Statement framework, and the prudential limits — e.g. minimum allocation to government securities, maximum to a single counter, maximum offshore). Inspects schemes and intervenes in distressed ones.
Why it matters
Kenya's pension AUM exceeded KES 1.9 trillion by 2024 — making the pension industry a structural buyer of long-duration government bonds. RBA's investment guidelines shape demand at the long end of the yield curve. The NSSF Act 2013 ramping mandatory contributions over 2024-25 is materially expanding the size of the system.
What to watch
Industry quarterly returns, the annual report, RBA notices on enforcement, and policy papers on member-default funds, the offshore-investment ceiling, and the post-retirement medical benefits regime.
More from Kenya — capital-markets and sectoral regulators
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The regulator of Kenya's capital markets — IPOs, secondary markets, fund managers, investment banks, REITs, derivatives, and all collective investment schemes.
- Nairobi Securities Exchange · NSE
Kenya's stock exchange. The trading venue for equities, bonds, ETFs, and derivatives — and itself a CMA-regulated listed company.
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