[Denish Ochieng,Standard]You can now use part of your pension contributions to kickstart your dream of owning a home even with limited savings. This is after the Co-operative Bank of Kenya unveiled a pension-backed mortgage loan facility in partnership with Enwealth Financial Services. Through the Finance Act, 2021, the government amended the Retirement Benefits (Mortgage Loans) Act, Regulations Amendment, 2020 allowing members of pension schemes to utilise up to two-fifths of their accrued pension benefits as a down payment for a home. The changes in law while beneficial to pension members with enough contributions, do not take care of a lot of Kenyans whose retirement savings are inadequate. The application can be done by an individual pension scheme member or jointly with a spouse, thereby consolidating their pension benefits to access a higher amount.

Source: Standard Digital July 09, 2021 06:22 UTC