Loans from the Hustler Fund have been required to deduct five per cent for savings since November 2023, with 70 % earmarked for long‑term pension accounts, but the money has not been moved to the Kenya National Entrepreneurs Savings Trust (KNEST).

The National Treasury says the missing transfers account for 99.61 % of the shortfall in the voluntary pension programme, which recorded only Sh14.06 million against a Sh3.6 billion target for the year ended June 2026.

Financial Inclusion Fund chief executive Henry Tanui explained that the transfer cannot proceed until regulations are amended to recognise KNEST as the authorised manager of the long‑term savings component.

Tanui added that the Hustler Fund and KNEST are separate entities and the fund will continue operating under existing rules until the required regulatory changes are made.

An inter‑ministerial committee approved on 4 April 2024 that KNEST would manage the 70 % long‑term savings held by the Hustler Fund, but the legal framework for the transfer remains unsettled.

Despite the transfer issue, enrolment in the voluntary pension scheme surged to nearly 1.5 million informal‑sector workers, well above the 700 000 target, though the amount mobilised stayed at just 0.39 % of the goal.

Borrowers can still view their savings and statements via mobile phones using their national ID numbers as account numbers.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s September 2025 report noted that KNEST had not received either the funds or the data needed to fulfil its expanded mandate, and no timeline for transfer had been communicated.

KNEST, incorporated on 9 December 2021 to oversee a national pension scheme for over 18 million informal workers, had not launched the voluntary membership scheme by the time of the audit.

The State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development reported cumulative savings of Sh5.8 billion through the Hustler Fund by June 2026, exceeding its Sh5 billion target, but this figure includes all savings categories and does not isolate the amount due to KNEST.