The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Kenya’s main pension fund, has reported an improvement in the value of its investments, driven by rising asset prices.
In the year to June 2025, NSSF recorded a paper gain (value increase) of about Ksh.46.06 billion on the investments it holds.
This is a massive jump from just Ksh.2.98 billion the year before, with the gains coming from the higher market prices of things like bonds and shares that NSSF owns.
A paper gain means the investments are worth more now, but the fund has not yet sold them to turn them into real cash.
Why the Gain Happened
Two main factors that helped push up NSSF’s investment value include the bond price, which went up. The value of government bonds NSSF holds grew from about Ksh.253.8 billion to Ksh.355.39 billion over the year. This happened mainly because interest rates fell and when interest rates drop, the prices of older bonds rise.
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The second factor is that the shares did well on Kenya’s stock market. Many major companies, such as Safaricom, KCB Group, Equity Group and EABL saw strong share price increases, which boosted the value of NSSF’s equity holdings.
Overall, NSSF’s investment income jumped to about Ksh.105.3 billion in the same period, up from Ksh.39.6 billion last year, a rise of 152%. This improvement could mean higher returns for pension savers when final results are declared.
By June 2025, NSSF’s total net assets were about Ksh.572.77 billion, up from Ksh.400.2 billion a year earlier, to reflect both investment gains and increased contributions from workers and employers.
The fund has seen larger contribution inflows in recent years after changes to the law increased the amount workers and employers contribute to NSSF.
