More than 82 percent of senior citizens are working for basic needs amid financial struggles, raising concerns about the adequacy of pension payouts and coverage of retirement benefits.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) quarterly jobs report shows that 776,159 of 869,338 people above the age of 60 were in active employment in December, representing 82.1 percent of the senior citizens in the country.
Many of those working were doing so to meet basic needs. Another 6,881 persons above the age of 60 joined young graduates in actively looking for jobs, says the KNBS survey.
This points to a possible deepening of old-age poverty, which in itself has significant social implications in a country where the traditional patterns of the young caring for the old are fast changing.
Workers above 60 years, Kenya’s contractual retirement age, have increased by 7.7 percent or 55, 149 between March and December.
Analysts say the relatively low number of Kenyans saving for pension and the value of payouts at retirement have compelled many retirees or those approaching the legal retirement age of 60 to continue working.
This has been worsened by the fact that retirees are living longer on the back of improved healthcare and most prefer to reside in urban centres, a departure from past trends where the aged would retire to villages and smaller towns where life is less costly.
The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) Chief Executive Officer Tom Gichuhi says increased life expectancy on improved healthcare means many people are turning 60 years while still energetic and willing to continue working in line with the trends being witnessed globally.
He, however, adds that while old age working in countries such as Estonia, Sweden, Canada, and Japan is mainly motivated by labour shortage, the Kenyan case is usually due to meagre or no retirement savings.
“Many people are retiring and asking their employers for some extension while others go looking for other jobs since they feel inadequately financially prepared to face retirement. This speaks to the deficiency in savings,” said Mr Gichuhi.
