According to the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) industry brief, Kenya’s pension industry total Assets Under Management (AUM) stood at Kshs 2,810.6 bn as of December 2025, a 24.6% increase from Kshs 2,255.2 bn recorded in December 2024. This was driven by additional contributions of Kshs 157.1 bn and investment income of Kshs 122.9 bn during the period. Notably, in February 2025, the transition into the third year of the NSSF Act, 2013 was implemented, increasing the lower and upper contribution limits to Kshs 8,000 and Kshs 72,000 respectively. This increased the statutory contributions payable for both NSSF Tier 1 and Tier II, contributing to the increase in total contributions to Kshs 157.1 bn from Kshs 118.8 bn recorded in 2024. Additionally, a stable macroeconomic environment, characterized by a steady currency and favorable interest rates, supported investment growth, while moderate inflation helped preserve the real value of members’ benefits.
The industry’s investment allocation remained concentrated in traditional assets, including government securities, quoted equities, immovable property, guaranteed funds, and fixed deposits. Government securities remained dominant at 52.1% with Kshs 1,465.6 bn, a 23.9% increase from Kshs 1,183.3 in December 2024. The growth occurred despite the expansionary monetary stance adopted by the Monetary Policy Committee, which eased the Central Bank Rate during the year, lowering yields on new government securities and making them less attractive to investors. Pension schemes typically allocate the majority of their portfolios to government securities because they guarantee returns and mitigate the risk of loss.
Quoted equities increased by 54.6% to Kshs 312.8 bn from Kshs 202.3 bn in December 2024, accounting for 11.1% of the portfolio. This was largely driven by the rally in the Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) in 2025, particularly among blue-chip stocks such as Safaricom and EABL, as well as tier-one banks including KCB and Equity. Guaranteed funds increased to Kshs 522.4 bn from Kshs 437.5 bn in December 2024, while immovable property declined to Kshs 241.0 bn from Kshs 249.2 bn over the same period. The decrease in immovable property was mainly due to schemes’ preference for more liquid investments. Alternative assets such as listed corporate bonds increased to Kshs 28.3 bn from Kshs 6.3 bn in 2024, driven by the listing of new instruments including the LIZNZI Infrastructure Asset-Backed Security (IABS), the EABL Medium Term Note, and the Safaricom Medium Term Note. Additionally, private equity grew by 49.2% to reach Kshs 29.9 bn from Kshs 16.2 bn in 2024. Overall, all investment categories were within RBA’s statutory investment limits, reflecting a risk-averse allocation with significant untapped capacity in alternative and growth-oriented asset classes that could support improved long-term returns.
As of December 2025, NSSF’s total net assets increased to 623.8 billion, from the 453.9 in December 2024. Contributions to NSSF increased to Kshs 43.4 bn in December 2025 from Kshs 37.3 bn in December 2024. The pensions AUM is expected to grow further in 2026 due to progression of the fourth year implementation of the NSSF Act, 2023, with increased lower and upper limits to Kshs 9,000 and Kshs 108,000 respectively. The pensions AUM is expected to grow further in 2026 due to the progression of the fourth-year implementation of the NSSF Act, 2023, with increased lower and upper contribution limits to Kshs 9,000 and Kshs 108,000 respectively. This growth trajectory underscores the resilience of Kenya’s pension industry and the potential for enhanced long-term returns as schemes gradually diversify into underutilized asset classes.
