Pension Shocker: Retired teachers asked to produce first-ever payslip to get payment

A total of 3,224 teachers who have exited service are yet to receive their pension for the period between 2024 and 2026, it emerged yesterday.

This even as MPs took the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to task following revelations that the kin or beneficiaries of deceased teachers were being asked to part with some money before accessing the benefactors’ pensions.

It also emerged that for the living retired teachers, some were being asked to provide their first-ever payslip to allow for the processing of their pension funds, a development that MPs termed unfair.

According to documents tabled before the National Assembly’s Implementation Committee by TSC, a total 16,088 teachers have exited service through either death or retiring for the period between 2024/2025 to 2025/2026 financial years. Out of these, the commission has processed 12,864 pension cases, out of which 10,388 have been submitted to the National Treasury for payment while 2,476 cases are within the commission awaiting verification prior to submission to the Treasury.

The MPs sought to understand the delay in disbursement of the pension fund to the beneficiaries even as they flagged what they termed as bureaucracies which had hindered the rightful owners from accessing the funds.

The matter came up after acting TSC chief executive Eveleen Mitei appeared before the Raphael Wanjala-led committee to answer queries lodged by the public over delays in payment of retirement dues and pension to teachers.

“Teachers are suffering because of the bureaucracies within the commission when it comes to accessing pension funds. When a teacher dies, for instance, why does TSC write to the beneficiaries or kin of the deceased asking them to pay some money before the benefits are processed? Why can’t you compute what is owed by the deceased, if any, then deduct it from the pension at processing?” posed Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu who brought the matter to the fore.

Trans Nzoia Woman Representative Lilian Siyoi termed the practice unfair and a burden to those left behind by the deceased. “I think this practice is unlawful because the person to pay any money that might have been owed was the deceased. If you die as a teacher, any money that is withstanding should be paid by the insurance company. When you leave the kin of the deceased to pay, it is unfair,” stated Siyoi.

Wanjala further criticised a provision by TSC that teachers who have exited service need to provide the first payslip to the commission to allow for the commencement of the processing of their pension.

“For someone like me who has been in service since 1997, it is unrealistic to tell me to provide my first payslip. How do I even trace it? Why not go back to the teachers’ files which are already in the commission’s possession and access the pay slips instead of burdening them?”

“As a commission, you are also asking the kin of a deceased teacher to pay, let’s say, Sh30,000 to access the pension monies without considering that those left behind are breadwinners and are dealing with issues such as their children’s education. That is not right,” said Wanjala.

But in her response, Ms Mitei explained that, at the point of death or retirement, teachers have a government liability and may be required to clear any outstanding monies to the commission.

“Most of the time, we are forced to negotiate with the beneficiaries if there is any money that is paid as opposed to telling them to pay. Our aim is to get authorisation from them to allow us to deduct any money from the pension at processing as opposed to us paying out the pension and risking them not paying us the money,” said Mitei.

Mitei, however, denied that the requirement for retirees to produce their first payslip existed, noting that the commission had shifted to automation of services through an Electronic Management System which now serves as a repository of all teachers' pay slips.

“We no longer ask for pay slips of the living retiree teachers because we have their documents. However, when a teacher dies, we ask the beneficiaries for some documents because, in some instances, we cannot use what is provided because we have had cases where another family comes forward claiming that it is the rightful beneficiary,” Mitei said.

Director of Pensions Michael Kagika explained the need for automation within the TSC and integration of systems with the National Treasury to fasten the pension payment process.

“The reason why we are doing automation is to ensure that we prevent loss of teachers files and ensure we have all their data…. we have also put together a small team to help us mop up the cases involving pensions and sensitize families on the claim process,” submitted Kagika.

Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje urged TSC to consider coming up with a policy to allow the writing off of any debt owed by the deceased at the time of their death in line with the PFM Act.