At least 2,600 former employees of Telkom Kenya are set to be paid an additional Sh7.2 billion.
This is after a four-member Retirement Benefits Authority tribunal (RBA) established that the 2,613 retrenched workers of the former State agency had been underpaid their pensions by the Trustees of Teleposta Pensions Scheme and Provident Fund, which they were members of.
The retirees had complained that they were not paid in accordance with the prevailing trust deed and schemes rules. Apparently, Telkom had discounted the amounts paid to its former workers.
“In our view any computation of the appellants benefits by application of a discounting (reducing) factor at age 55 is contrary to regulation 16 (1) as they reduced accrued rights and interests,” said the tribunal members in their judgement.
The tribunal ruled that the Teleposta Pensions Scheme and Provident Fund had a fiduciary obligation requiring them to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries and “pay them the right amounts owing.”
