Seven in 10 Kenyans Fear They Won’t Have Enough for a Comfortable Retirement, Study Finds
By Peace Muthoka
NAIROBI, Kenya, October 12, 2026 — Seven in 10 Kenyans believe they are not saving enough for a comfortable retirement, with family expenses, irregular incomes and debt repayments forcing many to put immediate needs ahead of their future financial security, a new study has found.
The inaugural SanlamAllianz Kenya Retirement Benchmark, released in Nairobi on Monday, reveals a gap between awareness of the importance of retirement planning and the ability to save consistently. It also highlights concerns over workers withdrawing their savings when they leave employment and the limited number who know how much income they will need in old age.
Titled “Kenya Before It Ages”, the study warns that retirement security remains out of reach for many households despite progress in financial access and inclusion.
“Retirement should be a stage of life that offers dignity, independence and choice, not one where people are forced to scale back their ambitions,” said Jacqueline Karasha, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Officer of Sanlam Allianz Life Insurance (Kenya) Limited.
Karasha said the next challenge was ensuring that participation in financial services translated into long-term security.
The pressure begins with everyday household costs. According to the study, 44 per cent of respondents cited family and household expenses as their biggest barrier to saving for retirement. Low or irregular income came next at 37 per cent, while 24 per cent pointed to debt repayments.
Family responsibilities also eat into savings, with 62 per cent saying support for dependants reduces the amount they can put aside. The study found that 39 per cent could cover basic household expenses for only two months or less if their income stopped today.
When money runs short, retirement contributions are among the first things some people cut. In the past year, 23 per cent of respondents had dipped into savings or reduced their retirement contributions to cope with financial pressure. The figure rose to 29 per cent among earners aged 20 to 39.
The challenge does not end when workers leave a job or business. Among respondents who left employment while holding retirement savings, 53 per cent withdrew at least part of the money, while 26 per cent took everything. Only 32 per cent preserved or transferred the full amount.
A third used the withdrawn money to start or support a business or farm. Yet 53 per cent later regretted taking out their savings, even though 65 per cent said they understood the implications at the time. One in five received no assistance when leaving their job or business.
Karasha said the findings showed that encouraging people to save was not enough without support to help them protect those savings when their circumstances changed.
“As an industry, we have a responsibility to make it easier for people to stay invested, provide relevant guidance when key decisions arise, and design solutions that reflect the realities of people’s lives,” she said.
The study also found that many workers are saving without a clear picture of what their money will provide in retirement. One in five working-age contributors did not know how much they had accumulated, while only 29 per cent knew the monthly income they would need after leaving work.
Nearly half of respondents, 45 per cent, had never heard of income drawdown, a way of using retirement savings to provide an income over time. At the same time, 51 per cent said they wanted a guaranteed monthly income for life.
Planning for healthcare in old age remains another concern. The benchmark found that 53 per cent of respondents had no funded plan for medical expenses after retirement. Meanwhile, 88 per cent said they would continue working or running a business even if their retirement income was sufficient.
Jonathan Stichbury, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SanlamAllianz Investments Limited, said retirement planning needed to focus on the income savings could provide throughout a person’s later years, rather than the balance accumulated during their working life.
“Retirement security is ultimately not about the balance someone accumulates during their working years, but whether those savings can provide a reliable income throughout retirement,” Stichbury said.
The findings also reflect the realities of Kenya’s labour market, where many people work informally and cannot depend on a fixed monthly salary to support regular contributions.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that the economy grew by 4.6 per cent in 2025, while the informal sector accounted for 87.2 per cent of new jobs.
Among working respondents in the study, 39 per cent said their earnings varied from month to month. For informal workers, 51 per cent preferred making retirement contributions through mobile money, pointing to demand for flexible ways to save outside traditional payroll arrangements.
However, greater use of digital financial services also comes with risks. The study found that 45 per cent of respondents had lost money or personal information through a digital financial scam. The proportion rose to 54 per cent among younger respondents.
Trust is therefore a major consideration when choosing retirement products. Respondents identified a trusted provider or regulator as the feature most likely to attract them to a retirement savings plan.
Dr Nyamemba Patrick Tumbo, Group Chief Executive Officer of SanlamAllianz Kenya, said the country had an opportunity to strengthen retirement preparedness while its population remained relatively young.
“Kenya has a rare advantage: time. As a relatively young country, we have an opportunity to strengthen retirement preparedness before demographic pressures become more pronounced,” Tumbo said.
He said the benchmark would help measure progress, stimulate discussion and inform decisions aimed at improving retirement outcomes for future generations.
SanlamAllianz plans to repeat the study annually to track changes in retirement preparedness and assess whether efforts to improve long-term financial security are delivering results.
