Senators to access parliamentary pension scheme

Senators will now be eligible to benefit from the parliamentary pension scheme, ending the long dispute over senators' pensions after the enactment of a new law that expands retirement benefits beyond members of the national assembly alone, reports the Kenyans. This comes after President William Ruto assented to the Parliamentary Pensions Amendment Bill 2023, aligning the pension framework with the 2010 Constitution that established a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly and the Senate. The assent was done at the State House, Nairobi, with Ruto describing it as part of efforts to modernise Kenya's legislative and financial governance structures. According to Ruto, the amended law updates the Parliamentary Pensions Act of 1983, which previously focused primarily on Members of the National Assembly, and formally extends pension eligibility to Senators under the same legal framework. Under the new provisions, Senators will now be treated as part of the parliamentary pension system, ensuring they are entitled to retirement benefits similar to those of MPs, in line with their service in Parliament. The law also redefines key terms within the pension framework, including the definition of a child, which has been updated to mean a person below the age of 18 years, up from 16 years, in accordance with the Constitution. The new law also reconstitutes the parliamentary pensions management committee and the appeals committee to include representatives from both houses, reflecting the country's bicameral legislative structure. The reforms further maintain gratuity payments for legislators who serve for less than five years, preserving existing provisions on short-term service benefits.

Full report on the Kenyans site