Standard Investment Bank (SIB), is the latest firm in Kenya to get the regulators nod to manage retirement benefits schemes.
SIB received the license from the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) setting the stage for the private pension schemes to battle the NSSF for the control of billions in new pension contributions.
The clearance follows the amendment of the NSSF Act where Tier I contributions from both the employee and the employer capped at Sh720 go to NSSF while the rest of the contributions above Sh720 up to a maximum of Sh1,440 categorised as Tier II are now managed by authorised private schemes.
SIB’s founder and Managing Director, James Wangunyu, said the clearance newly empowers SIB to provide tailored investment strategies and retirement planning solutions.
" We are now in a better position to diversify our services and meet the evolving needs of our clients, especially in the crucial area of retirement planning," said Wangunyu.
This is the third license issued to SIB, after the Money Manager license in 2018, which led to the formation of Mansa-X Fund, and SIB’s investment manager license in 2003, both of which were issued by the Capital Markets Authority.
RIB chief executive Charles Machira said the licensing of the different players would increase competition in the management of retirement funds.
Tier-II contributions are secondary deductions made by persons with incomes above Sh18,000 at Sh720 a month with the contribution being matched by employers.
Tier-I contributions, which are set at Sh360 a month and equally matched by the employer, are mandatory and remitted to the NSSF.
Tier-II contributions have been estimated to yield Sh12.43 billion in new pension funds during the first year of the 2013 NSSF Act implementation up to June 2024.
Just like private retirement schemes, employers are also required to apply to the RBA to channel contributions outside the NSSF.
