The government is exploring lowering the minimum age for the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme from 70 to 60 years, a move outlined in the draft 2026 Budget Policy Statement.
The proposed adjustment comes after the National Assembly questioned the high age threshold, noting that Kenya’s average life expectancy is currently 68 years.
“Social safety net programmes remain a central pillar of the government, aimed at reducing poverty, creating jobs and expanding income opportunities for economically excluded populations. In pursuit of these goals, the government continues to strengthen and expand social safety nets and allocate financial resources to safeguard vulnerable groups across the country,” says National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in the report.
Despite these plans, the National Assembly’s Labour and Social Protection Committee has raised concerns that some elderly citizens, orphans, vulnerable children, and persons with severe disabilities may miss their monthly stipends unless the Treasury releases Sh16.958 billion under Supplementary Budget II.
The committee highlighted that the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs attributed the funding shortfall to President William Ruto’s directive to scale up the Inua Jamii programme.
Currently, the programme provides Sh2,000 monthly to qualifying elderly citizens, alongside financial support for orphans, vulnerable children, and persons living with severe disabilities.
In 2023, President Ruto instructed then Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore to add 500,000 new beneficiaries to cushion vulnerable households from economic shocks and enhance their livelihoods.
Looking ahead, the government anticipates increasing the budget for elderly cash transfers by Sh15 billion over the next three years to June 2027, in preparation for a recruitment drive that could see the total number of beneficiaries reach about 1.9 million.
