| dc.description.abstract | Everyone needs money to live on when they retire or can no longer work. The reality, however, appears to be that few people spend time thinking about long-term savings for their days of retirement. Another striking reality is that because more people are living longer, the period of retirement could be as much as a quarter of one's life-span hence the need for a reliable pension plan.
In Kenya, like any other country in the world, low pension coverage in a big challenge among the informal sector works. Although many studies have been done on area of social security and pension coverage, little in known on the extend of the pension coverage in Nairobi country. This study therefore sought to establish the extent of coverage by retirement benefit schemes of informal sector workers in Nairobi County and to investigate the factors that determine coverage by retirement benefit schemes of informal sector workers in Nairobi County, Kenya.
This study used a descriptive survey design. Stratified sampling method was used to pick small scale traders from each of the five categories namely second hand clothes dealers, small shops and Kiosks, Jua Kali Artisans, hawkers, small producers and providers of domestic and industrial goods and services. The sample size for the study was 100 respondents. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean scores, percentages and frequencies. The findings of the quantitative data were presented in tables, figures and charts. Content analysis was done to process qualitative data and results were presented in prose.
The study revealed that only a small extent of the informal sector workers in Nairobi County was covered by retirement benefit/pension schemes. The factors that determine pension coverage to informal sector workers were found to be lack of financial education among the public, government policy, individual perception on retirement benefit/pension schemes and pension reform initiatives. The study further found out that the major challenges faced by retirement benefit/pension scheme included; poor management, political influence, lack of profitable investment opportunities, lack of information, lack of participation by the public and corruption.
The study also revealed that most informal sector workers in Nairobi County (the respondents) attached importance to retirement benefit/pension schemes only to a little extent.
The study recommends that the government, RBA and NSSF undertake extensive education campaign to educate informal sector workers on the importance of membership to retirement benefit/pension schemes as a means to secure old age. The study further recommends necessary policy and institutional reforms to make access to retirement pension services easily accessible to informal sector workers. | en_US |
