NSSF
Also known as: National Social Security Fund, NSSF Tier I, NSSF Tier II
Full definition
NSSF is Kenya's compulsory statutory pension fund, administered by the National Social Security Fund. The NSSF Act 2013 replaced the pre-2013 flat KES 200 contribution regime with a percentage-based two-tier structure that phases in year by year. It became fully enforceable from February 2023 after the Supreme Court cleared the constitutional challenge.
Contribution rate is 12 percent of pensionable pay (6 percent employee + 6 percent matching employer), split into Tier I (contribution on pay up to the lower pensionable earnings limit) and Tier II (contribution on pay between the lower and upper limits). NSSF publishes the current Tier I and Tier II limits every year on nssf.or.ke; paybillke's NSSF hub carries the FY26 numbers.
Employers must deduct and remit by the 9th of the following month. Self-employed people can voluntarily contribute at least KES 200 per month, and now increasingly do so under the Haba Haba scheme. Portability: NSSF sits with the employee across jobs; the NSSF number stays the same.
Worked example
An employee earning KES 40,000 pensionable pay. Total NSSF (12 percent) is KES 4,800: KES 2,400 employee deduction + KES 2,400 employer matching. Employer remits by the 9th of the next month via NSSF paybill.
Verified 2026-09-01. Definitions on paybillke are sourced from Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Communications Authority of Kenya, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the primary operator documentation for each product. How we verify. Report a change.