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SHA for the unemployed in Kenya: what you pay and how (2026)

Registration is mandatory even without a job. Realistic monthly figure is the KES 300 floor. How to register, how to pay when you have no income, Lipa SHA Pole Pole, and what happens if you fall behind.

AO
by Reviewed by Michael Mwangi 9 min read Updated 26 August 2026Verified 26 Aug 2026

The law does not exempt the unemployed

Under the Social Health Insurance Act 2023, which brought SHA into effect on 1 October 2024, registration is mandatory for every Kenyan resident. There is no unemployment exemption. What differs is how much you pay and how you are assessed.

Salaried employees (Tier 1) have 2.75% of gross deducted by their employer. Everyone else, including the unemployed, informal workers, self-employed, and dependants, sits under Tier 2 and is assessed via the SHA Means Testing Instrument at afyayangu.go.ke. See our full means testing explainer for what the instrument evaluates.

The realistic monthly figure

SHA does not publish its scoring algorithm, so no online tool can predict the exact Tier 2 premium the Means Testing Instrument will output for a given household. What we do know is the arithmetic floor:

  • Rate: 2.75% of assessed monthly income
  • Floor: KES 300/month, no matter how low the assessment goes
  • Cap: none [Source 2]

A household with zero declared income and no meaningful assets falls to the KES 300 floor. That is the realistic monthly figure for a genuinely unemployed Kenyan without other adult earners in the household. The annual number is KES 3,600.

Note the household caveat. The Means Testing Instrument evaluates the whole household, not just the individual applicant. If you live in a household where a spouse or another adult earns, the assessment will use household-level income, not zero. See the household coverage guide for how SHA defines a household.

How to register with no income

  1. Go to sha.go.ke/register or dial *147# and follow the SHA registration prompts. You will need a valid Kenyan National ID and a Safaricom number.
  2. Complete the Means Testing questionnaire at afyayangu.go.ke. It runs 30 to 45 minutes and asks about household composition, housing, water and electricity, assets, education, and employment.
  3. Wait for SHA to output your monthly premium. If your household is genuinely low-income, expect the KES 300 floor.
  4. Pay via M-PESA Paybill 200222, account number is your National ID. First payment activates coverage.

If any step blocks you, the toll-free SHA helpline is 0800 720 601, or walk into any SHA branch or Huduma Centre.

Someone else can pay for you

SHA reconciles by National ID, not by the M-PESA number that sent the money. So a working spouse, parent, sibling, or a well-wisher can pay your contribution from their own M-PESA line by entering your National ID in the account field.

This matters practically. If you have no phone or no M-PESA account of your own, you are not blocked. Ask a family member to pay to Paybill 200222 with your ID number, save the M-PESA confirmation code (a nine-character reference like TFR7AB8CD), and keep it in case reconciliation is delayed. If it is delayed, our payment not reflecting guide walks through the recovery steps and the 0800 720 601 escalation path.

Lipa SHA Pole Pole for genuine hardship

SHA runs a formal instalment scheme called Lipa SHA Pole Pole for non-salaried Kenyans. Per sha.go.ke/lipa-pole-pole (accessed 26 August 2026) [Source 1]:

  • The plan runs for two years.
  • You pay the first four months' premium upfront.
  • The remaining twenty months are spread as daily, weekly, or monthly instalments via M-PESA Ratiba, *147#, or *254# (Hustler Fund route).
  • No interest, no extra charges.
  • Full annual cover begins immediately on enrolment.

For someone on the KES 300 floor, four months upfront is KES 1,200, then either roughly KES 10/day, KES 70/week, or KES 300/month for the balance. Eligibility requires that you have completed means testing and have no pending SHA arrears.

What happens if you do not pay

  1. Coverage lapses. Any hospital visit is out of pocket until you clear.
  2. Arrears accumulate month by month. Under section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, late payment attracts a 2% penalty [Source 3].
  3. SHA publishes a formal registration and eligibility check at eligibility.sha.go.ke. Facilities check this before billing SHA. If you are inactive, they bill you directly.
  4. To clear arrears, you can enrol in Lipa SHA Pole Pole (subject to eligibility) or pay the outstanding balance in a lump sum to Paybill 200222.

Practical guidance if money is tight

  • Do the assessment honestly. Under-declaring assets is not a strategy. SHA reserves the right to re-assess, and misdeclaration can push you into arrears when the correction lands.
  • Pay the KES 300 monthly even if you cannot pay more. Every month you pay keeps coverage live. Every month you skip adds to arrears plus the 2% penalty.
  • Use Lipa SHA Pole Pole if a lump sum is not possible. The daily and weekly options exist for exactly this situation.
  • Do not delay a hospital visit while you sort SHA. Emergency care under the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund is separate. Public facilities are legally required to stabilise before checking payment.
  • Track your payments. Log into afyayangu.go.ke monthly to confirm each contribution has posted. If it has not, see the payment not reflecting guide.

Sources

  1. Lipa SHA Pole Pole scheme: sha.go.ke/lipa-pole-pole, accessed 26 August 2026. Two-year plan, four months upfront, twenty months in daily/weekly/monthly instalments, no interest, no extra charges.
  2. SHA premium rates and KES 300 floor: sha.go.ke/premium-rates, accessed 26 August 2026.
  3. Late payment penalty of 2%, per section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023.
  4. Registration: sha.go.ke/register. Member portal: afyayangu.go.ke. Eligibility check: eligibility.sha.go.ke.
  5. SHA toll-free helpline 0800 720 601.
  6. M-PESA Paybill 200222 for SHA, account number is National ID.