A Survey of State of the Information and Communications Technology Implementation in Retirement Benefits Administration in Kenya
Abstract
The need for computer based information systems in retirement benefits schemes are now
increasingly inevitable given that, the number of transactions are high and the number of
customers is increasing rapidly. In such cases the manual methods of record maintenance
and pension administration would be very difficult and complicated. causing retirement
benefits schemes a lot of inefficiencies and vulnerability to security breaches. However
with the increased introduction of computer based information systems, retirement
benefits administrators now vary in their implementation of computer based information
systems. This implies that depending on the extent of implementation the benefits and
challenges of information systems will vary among the administrators. The
implementation of information systems has led to increased competition among
administrators it has also Jed to the need of businesses to understand the need for
information systems security in order to have integrity and value of information; hence
the need for the study on the extent of Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) within retirement benefits administrators.
To address the objectives in this study. data were collected from 201 retirement benefits
administrators using questionnaires and analyses were done using various statistical tools.
The sample was obtained from the retirement benefits authority through stratified
sampling on the basis of self-administered and external administrators. Out of these 201
retirement benefits administrators, 157 responded to the questionnaires.
The findings of the study show that the majority of the retirement benefits administrators
in Kenya appreciate the need for JCT and have implemented Information Technology
(IT) with varying degrees. Information Technology supports most of the benefits work
and procedures including maintenance of member records, contributions and pension
administration. The study also shows that the implementation of ICT brings in numerous
benefits among the retirement benefits administrators. Benefits from JCT implementation
that were highly ranked included: Maintaining and updating records for contributing
members. maintenance of accurate and up-to-date Information. maintenance of more
scheme, computation of member benefits in the event of termination and faster response
to customer demands. Finally the study identified the main challenges of implementing
information systems in retirement benefits administrators in Kenya. These challenges
were divided into two categories. The physical challenges and the Logical challenges.
Physical challenges are the challenges that are non-application related they are mainly
administrative based. Logical challenges are application software based they relate to the
challenges posed on the Computer Based Information System. Since data is a key
corporate asset and in some cases considered a strategic resource. The researcher
recommends that security of information systems should be paramount in any firm
wishing to benefit profoundly from ICT and there by improve its competitive position.