NSSF — Tier I, Tier II and the Feb 2026 ceiling raise
What the two NSSF tiers mean, how the rates have stepped up since Feb 2024, and what employers owe today.
The NSSF Act 2013 finally came into force in February 2024 after a decade in litigation. It replaced the old flat KES 200 per month with a 6% contribution from both the employee and the employer, split across two tiers, and phased the ceilings up over five years.
How the tiers work
There's no separate rate per tier — both are 6%. The split exists so the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) maps to a basic state pension while the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) can be diverted to an approved occupational scheme in future without renegotiation.
| Tier | Pensionable pay range | Rate (each side) |
|---|---|---|
| I | KES 0 — LEL | 6% |
| II | LEL — UEL | 6% |
| Above UEL | Not pensionable for NSSF | 0% |
The phased ceiling schedule
| Year | Effective from | LEL | UEL | Max per side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Feb 2024 | 6,000 | 18,000 | 1,080 |
| Year 2 | Feb 2025 | 7,000 | 36,000 | 2,160 |
| Year 3 | Feb 2026 (Jan payroll still uses Year 3) | 8,000 | 72,000 | 4,320 |
| Year 4 | Feb 2026 onwards (this month) | 9,000 | 108,000 | 6,480 |
Vendly ships versioned NSSF limits in src/lib/payroll/statutory-law-version.ts. Payroll records and payslips store the law-version snapshot used at calculation time, so historical payslips stay stable when a later NSSF year is added.
Worked example (Year 4)
| Gross pay (KES) | Tier I 6% | Tier II 6% | Total per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8,000 (under LEL) | 480 | 0 | 480 |
| 50,000 (mid-band) | 540 | 2,460 | 3,000 |
| 120,000 (above UEL) | 540 | 5,940 | 6,480 |
| 1,000,000 (capped) | 540 | 5,940 | 6,480 |
Filing
NSSF returns are due by the 15th of the month following the pay period. Vendly's Statutory Exports page produces a NSSF byPRO CSV that splits Tier I and Tier II explicitly — that's the format the NSSF Employer Self-Service portal accepts for bulk upload.
Generate the NSSF byPRO CSV
Statutory ExportsKenya law that applies
- National Social Security Fund Act 2013
Tier I + Tier II pension contributions; phased ceilings over five years.
- NSSF Year 4 (2026) contribution rates notice
Official employer notice for February 2026 Year 4 limits: LEL KES 9,000 and UEL KES 108,000.
- NSSF Employer Self-Service (byPRO)
NSSF byPRO — bulk-upload of monthly Tier I + Tier II contributions.