Mandatory training for fund trustees

Pensioners in court to press for their dues. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Pension fund trustees will be required to undertake a mandatory short course designed by the Retirement Benefits Authority as part of new measures meant to improve the governance of pensioners’ funds.

The RBA said the course will be offered in collaboration with College of Insurance, with the curriculum targeting pension schemes trustees’ administration skills ready for rollout.

“This is part of our process of vetting trustees, where we are taking an additional step of training them. We have a five-day programme which is being run by the College of Insurance, using a curriculum which was developed to ensure that the board of trustees continue to enhance their skills,” said RBA’s manager in charge of market conduct Tom Kiptanui.

Speaking on Tuesday in Nairobi during the launch of the Pension Awards 2017, Mr Kiptanui said good governance would only be realised when the sector has trustees who have the required minimum qualifications to oversee a fund.

“Over a period of time we have been looking to see whether we can have minimum qualifications for trustees, giving them the know-how to run the funds,” said Mr Kiptanui.