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LAWS OF KENYA
RETIREMENT BENEFITS ACT
CAP. 197
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. XCIX—No. 44 on 29 August 1997
- Assented to on 22 August 1997
- Commenced on 20 November 1997 by Retirement Benefits Act Commencement
- [Amended by Retirement Benefits (Amendment) Act, 1998 (Act No. 7 of 1998) on 8 January 1999]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2003 (Act No. 15 of 2003) on 8 January 1999]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 1999 (Act No. 4 of 1999) on 18 November 1999]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2002 (Act No. 7 of 2002) on 13 June 2002]
- [Amended by Retirement Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. 8 of 2003) on 19 December 2003]
- [Amended by Retirement Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2006 (Act No. 2 of 2006) on 19 July 2006]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2007 (Act No. 9 of 2007) on 1 January 2008]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2008 (Act No. 8 of 2008) on 1 January 2009]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2009 (Act No. 8 of 2009) on 1 January 2010]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2010 (Act No. 10 of 2010) on 1 January 2011]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2012 (Act No. 57 of 2012) on 1 January 2013]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2013 (Act No. 38 of 2013) on 1 January 2014]
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2014 (Act No. 18 of 2014) on 8 December 2014]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2015 (Act No. 14 of 2015) on 1 October 2015]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2016 (Act No. 38 of 2016) on 1 January 2017]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2017 (Act No. 15 of 2017) on 1 January 2018]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2018 (Act No. 10 of 2018) on 1 July 2018]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2019 (Act No. 23 of 2019) on 7 November 2019]
- [Amended by Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act No. 2 of 2020) on 25 April 2020]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2020 (Act No. 8 of 2020) on 30 June 2020]
- [Amended by Public Service Superannuation Scheme Act (Cap. 189A) on 1 January 2021]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2021 (Act No. 8 of 2021) on 1 July 2021]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2021 (Act No. 8 of 2021) on 1 January 2022]
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
- [Amended by Finance Act, 2023 (Act No. 4 of 2023) on 1 July 2023]
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act No. 19 of 2023) on 11 December 2023]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Retirement Benefits Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“actuary” means a person who is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in England, or the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland, or the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, or the Society of Actuaries of the United States of America or the Institute of Actuaries of Japan or the Institute of Actuaries of Australia or a person holding such equivalent qualification as the Board may, by notice in the Gazette, prescribe;“administrator” means a person appointed by trustees to administer a scheme in accordance with such terms and conditions of service as may be specified in the instrument of appointment;“authority” means the Retirement Benefits Authority established by section 3;“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Authority constituted under section 6;“Cabinet Secretary” means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to Finance;“Chief Executive Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority appointed under section 11;"corporate trustee" means a limited liability company incorporated under the Companies Act (Cap. 486), which is, for the time being, empowered under any written law, its charter, memorandum of association, deed of settlement or other instrument constituting it or defining its powers to mainly undertake trusts, and includes a trust corporation;“custodian” means a company whose business includes taking responsibility for the safe custody of the funds, securities, financial instruments and documents of title of the assets of scheme funds;“financial year”—Part II – THE RETIREMENT BENEFITS AUTHORITY
3. Establishment and incorporation of the Retirement Benefits Authority
4. Headquarters
The headquarters of the Authority shall be in Nairobi.5. Object and functions of the Authority
The object and functions of the Authority shall be to—5A. Assistance in investigation
5B. Authority may investigate
6. Board of Directors
The management of the Authority shall vest in a Board of Directors of the Authority which shall comprise—7. Powers of the Board
The Board shall have all powers necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act and in particular, the Board shall have power to—8. Conduct of business and affairs of the Board
The conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the Board shall be as provided in the Schedule but subject thereto, the Board shall regulate its own procedure.9. Delegation by the Board
The Board may, by resolution either generally or in any particular case, delegate to any committee of the Board or to any member, officer, employee or agent of the Authority, the exercise of any of the powers or the performance of any of the functions or duties of the Authority under this Act or under any other written law.10. Remuneration of Board members
The Authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary shall pay members of the Board such remuneration, fees or allowances for expenses as it may determine.11. The Chief Executive Officer
12. Staff of the Authority
13. The Common Seal of the Authority
14. Protection from personal liability
No matter or thing done by a member of the Board or any officer, employee or agent of the Authority shall, if the matter or thing is done bona fide for executing the functions, powers or duties of the Authority, render the member, officer, employee or agent or any person acting on their directions personally liable to any action, claim or demand whatsoever.15. Liability of the Authority for damages
The provisions of this Act shall not relieve the Authority of the liability to pay compensation or damages to any person for any injury to him, his property or any of his interest caused by the exercise of any power conferred by this Act or any other written law or by the failure, whether wholly or partially, of any works.16. The Retirement Benefits Levy
17. The Retirement Benefits Authority Fund
18. Investment of funds of the Authority
19. Financial year
The financial year of the Authority shall be the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year.20. Annual estimates
21. Accounts and audit
Part III – REGISTRATION OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS SCHEMES, MANAGERS, CUSTODIANS AND ADMINISTRATORS
[Act No. 7 of 1998, s. 3, Act No. 2 of 2006, s. 3.]22. Retirement benefits schemes, managers, corporate trustees, custodians and administrators to be registered
22A. Criteria for suitability
23. Registration
24. Requirements for registration of schemes
25. Requirements for registration of managers and custodians
No applicant for registration as a manager shall be registered unless such applicant—25A. Requirements for registration of custodians
No applicant for registration as a custodian shall be registered unless such applicant—25B. Requirements for registration of administrators
25C. Requirements for the registration of corporate trustees
An applicant shall be registered by the Authority as a corporate trustee if that applicant—26. Requirements with regard to trustees
27. Refusal of registration
28. Deregistration
29. Duration and renewal of certificates
30. Register
31. Use of register in evidence
Part IV – REGULATION AND SUPERVISION OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS SCHEMES
32. Scheme funds
33. Statutory contributions
34. Annual report and accounts
35. Actuarial evaluations
36. Protection against attachment
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other written law, where a judgement or order against a member of a scheme is made, no execution or attachment or process of any nature shall be issued in respect of the contributions or funds of the member or his employer except in accordance with the scheme rules and such contributions shall not form part of the assets of the member or of his employer in the event of bankruptcy.36A. Treatment of death benefits
Upon the death of a member of a scheme, the benefit payable from the scheme shall not form part of the estate of the member for the purpose of administration and shall be paid out by the trustees in accordance with the scheme rules.[Act No. 9 of 2007, s. 72.]37. Investment of scheme funds
38. Restriction on use of scheme funds
39. Unsafe and unsound practices
40. General obligations of trustees and managers
The trustee, manager, custodian or administrator of a scheme shall—Part V – INSPECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM ADMINISTRATION
41. Inspection
42. Powers of the inspector
43. Inspection report
An inspector appointed under this Part shall submit his report to the Chief Executive Officer and the report shall draw attention to any breach of the requirements of this Act and any regulations made thereunder, any mismanagement or lack of management skills in the manager and any other matter revealed or discovered in the course of the inspection warranting, in the opinion of the inspector, remedial action or further investigation.44. Directions to manager
The Chief Executive Officer may, by notice in the prescribed form, require the trustees, manager, custodian or administrator of a scheme inspected under this Part to comply, by such date or within such period as may be specified therein, with such directions as the Authority considers necessary in connection with any matter arising out of the report made under section 43.[Act No. 7 of 1998, s. 19, Act No. 2 of 2006, s. 17.]44A. Sharing information
The Authority may share information with other regulatory authorities. [Act No. 10 of 2010, s. 76.]45. Appointment of interim administrator
45A. Treatment of unclaimed benefits
Part VI – APPEALS
46. Appeals to the Chief Executive Officer
47. Establishment of Appeals Tribunal
48. Appeals to the Tribunal
49. Powers of Appeals Tribunal
50. Refusal or failure to give evidence
Any person summoned by the Tribunal to attend and give evidence or to produce any records, books of account, statements or other documents, or required to answer interrogatories and who, without sufficient cause—51. Costs
52. Rules for appeals to the Appeals Tribunal
The Chief Justice may make rules governing the making of appeals and providing for the fees to be paid, the scale of costs of any such appeal, the procedure to be followed therein, and the manner of notifying the parties thereto; and until such rules are made and subject thereto, the provisions of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap. 21) shall apply as if the matter appealed against were a decree of a subordinate court exercising original jurisdiction.Part VII – MISCELLANEOUS
53. General penalty
53A. Proceedings for recovery of deductions from employers
53B. Powers to recover unremitted contributions
54. Offences by corporate bodies, partnerships, principals and employees
54A. Conduct of prosecutions
55. Regulations
56. Exemption from Cap. 446
The provisions of the State Corporations Act (Cap. 446) shall not apply to the Authority.57. Transitional provisions
Any person who, at the commencement of this Act, is a trustee or manager of a scheme to which this Act applies shall, within sixty days of the commencement, or within such longer period as the Cabinet Secretary may, in consultation with the Authority prescribe, apply for registration under this Act:Provided that the period prescribed under this section shall not exceed three years.58. Supersession
Where there is a conflict between the provisions of this Act and the provisions of any written law (other than the Constitution) with regard to the powers or functions of the Authority under this Act, the provisions of this Act shall prevail.59. Exemption from compliance with provisions of this Act
The Cabinet Secretary may, by order published in the Gazette—History of this document
11 December 2023 this version
01 July 2023
Amended by
Finance Act, 2023
Read this version
31 December 2022
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement
Read this version
01 January 2022
Amended by
Finance Act, 2021
Read this version
01 July 2021
Amended by
Finance Act, 2021
Read this version
01 January 2021
30 June 2020
Amended by
Finance Act, 2020
Read this version
25 April 2020
Amended by
Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020
Read this version
07 November 2019
Amended by
Finance Act, 2019
Read this version
01 July 2018
Amended by
Finance Act, 2018
Read this version
01 January 2018
Amended by
Finance Act, 2017
Read this version
01 January 2017
Amended by
Finance Act, 2016
Read this version
01 October 2015
Amended by
Finance Act, 2015
Read this version
08 December 2014
01 January 2014
Amended by
Finance Act, 2013
Read this version
01 January 2013
Amended by
Finance Act, 2012
Read this version
01 January 2011
Amended by
Finance Act, 2010
Read this version
01 January 2010
Amended by
Finance Act, 2009
Read this version
01 January 2009
Amended by
Finance Act, 2008
Read this version
01 January 2008
Amended by
Finance Act, 2007
Read this version
19 July 2006
19 December 2003
13 June 2002
Amended by
Finance Act, 2002
Read this version
18 November 1999
Amended by
Finance Act, 1999
Read this version
08 January 1999
20 November 1997
Commenced by
Retirement Benefits Act Commencement
29 August 1997
22 August 1997
Assented to
Cited documents 6
Act 6
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