By Caroline Katana
Ginorah Kinyasi
For many Kenyans, retirement is a frightening word. It is the day the monthly salary stops but life does not.
The children may still be in school. Grandchildren still need support. Hospital visits become more frequent.
The cost of food keeps rising, yet the steady income that once held everything together suddenly disappears.
For some retirees, those years become a daily struggle , borrowing from friends, depending on relatives or appealing for public donations to settle hospital bills.
But that is not the story of Ginorah Kinyasi.
On a bright morning in Kibiboni, Kwale County, the 65 -year-old walks through her compound with an ease that reflects years of careful planning rather than luck.
Retirement has not taken away her independence. Instead, it has given her time to enjoy it.
Once every month, she treats herself to a visit to the beach not because she has won the lottery, but because she spent 41 years preparing for the life she wanted after work.
“I don’t depend on my children, her face lighting up with a smile. “My pension helps me buy food, fuel and everything I need. Because I planned while I was still working, I live without stress.”
Ginorah joined Kenya Power and Lighting Company as a young employee and retired in 2022 after more than four decades of service.
Long before retirement knocked on her door, she had already answered one of life’s biggest questions: How will I survive when the salary stops?
She built her family home before leaving employment. Later, she invested in commercial property in Kanana, creating another source of income beyond her monthly pension.
Today, retirement has become more than financial security. It has given her the freedom to give.
Every school term, she pays school fees for two children from neighbouring families attending day secondary schools, believing that a comfortable retirement should also create opportunities for others.
“When you prepare well, retirement becomes a blessing instead of a burden,” she says.
Yet Ginorah’s story is not the experience of most Kenyan retirees.
A nationwide survey by the Retirement Benefits Authority paints a sobering picture.
More than half of retirees say their pension savings are no longer enough to sustain the lives they lived before retirement.
On average, pensioners now survive on just 51 per cent of their pre-retirement income, while many continue supporting adult children and other dependants years after leaving employment.
The survey found that 83 per cent of retirees still support dependants, while rising healthcare costs continue to erode retirement savings, leaving many struggling to maintain the dignity they hoped retirement would bring.
Nearly 100 kilometres away in Mnarani, Kilifi County, David Baya tells a story that sounds remarkably familiar.
The 69-year-old retired after serving for 38 years in the Department of Health in Kwale.
Ask him what retirement feels like, and he doesn’t talk about growing old.
He talks about peace.
“I planned early, today I don’t borrow money from friends. When I fall sick, I don’t ask people to organise fundraisers to pay my hospital bills. I simply enjoy my life because I prepared for this season.”
Baya believes retirement planning should never be viewed as a privilege for people in formal employment alone.
“Whether you are employed, running a business, farming or doing casual work, start saving as early as possible. Retirement comes for everyone.”
David Baya
Stories like Ginora’s and David’s are exactly what the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) hopes will become the norm rather than the exception.
According to RBA Chief Executive Officer Charles Machira, Kenya’s pension industry now manages more than Sh2.81 trillion in assets.
Yet only 26.5 per cent of the workforce is covered by pension schemes, while Sh67.9 billion deducted from workers’ salaries had not been remitted to pension schemes by employers as of March 2026.
Machira warns that the country faces a double challenge: too few people are saving for retirement, while billions of shillings already deducted from workers are not reaching their pension accounts.
He believes retirement should not be an afterthought.
Instead, it should become part of every Kenyan’s financial journey from the day they receive their first salary.
That message is echoed by Chairperson of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. David Ndii, who has consistently challenged Kenyans to think beyond today’s paycheck and build wealth through disciplined, long-term saving and investment.
Ginorah Kinyasi and David Baya are living proof that retirement is not built on the day a person leaves work.
It is built quietly salary by salary, contribution by contribution, year after year.
By the time the last paycheck arrives, the real work should already have been done.
