President Ruto says NSSF assets have grown from Ksh312 billion to Ksh680 billion since 2022, even as a court battle over enhanced deductions continues.
President William Ruto has defended the growth of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), saying its assets have more than doubled since he assumed office in September 2022.
Speaking during a church service in Embu County on Sunday, July 5, Ruto said NSSF's assets have grown from Ksh312 billion to over Ksh680 billion in just three years, attributing the growth to reforms undertaken by his administration and what he described as capable leadership at the fund. "When I became the president, NSSF had Ksh312 billion. Today it has Ksh680 billion in just three years," he said.
The President has made similar remarks in other recent public appearances, framing the growth as part of a broader push to unlock domestic capital. He has previously said the fund could nearly triple its historical savings within three and a half years of his administration — savings he argues Kenya had otherwise accumulated over six decades.
The claim lands against the backdrop of an unresolved legal dispute over how much Kenyans should actually be contributing to the fund each month. The controversy stems from a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC), which declared the enhanced deductions under the NSSF Act, 2013, unlawful — a decision that would technically have reverted contributions to the old Ksh200 flat rate.
NSSF challenged that ruling at the Court of Appeal, seeking to suspend its effect while the matter is fully litigated. The appellate court rejected NSSF's bid, dealing a blow to the fund's push to maintain the higher contribution rates pending the outcome of the case.
Despite this, employers have continued applying deductions under the newer Act, while legal experts, including the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), maintain that contributions should legally have reverted to the Ksh200 rate until the matter is conclusively settled.
Under the current NSSF Act structure, contributions are split into two tiers. Tier 1 applies to monthly earnings up to Ksh9,000, requiring both employees and employers to contribute 6 percent of monthly income — Ksh540 from each side, for a combined Ksh1,080 per employee.
Tier 2 applies to earnings above that threshold. For salaries up to Ksh108,000, both employee and employer are required to pay a maximum of Ksh5,940 each, totalling Ksh11,880. Combined with Tier 1, the maximum monthly NSSF contribution per employee now stands at Ksh12,960, effective February 2026 — a dramatic jump from the Ksh200 flat rate that predated the 2013 Act.
Ruto's framing focuses on the fund's overall growth as a national savings success story, positioning higher contributions as an investment in Kenyans' long-term financial security in retirement. Critics and legal experts, however, continue to argue that the legality of the very deductions fueling that growth remains unresolved in court — meaning the fund's expansion and the question of whether current contribution levels are lawful remain, for now, two separate and unresolved conversations.
Don Sami Live will continue to track how the Court of Appeal case develops and what it could mean for millions of contributing Kenyans.