Kenya’s Supreme Court has dismissed the final appeal by Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited in the long-running Standard Chartered pension case, affirming a landmark judgment that ordered the bank and its pension trustees to compensate 629 former employees.
The decision puts in force orders by the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal (RBAT) to recalculate pension benefits under the relevant Trust Deed and to refund excess surplus misused in prior calculations.
After years of litigation and subsequent directions issued by the tribunal in May of this year regarding the computations, the claimants are now being asked to come forward to verify their details so payments can begin.
In a public notice, the process is set to begin on Monday, 22 September 2025, at the Almary Green Business Park in Nairobi. Former employees, or their beneficiaries in cases where the appellant is deceased, must present themselves in person with a suite of original documents.
These include national ID, tax PIN, bank details, and crucially, proof of their former employment with the bank. Acceptable documents range from pension statements and letters of employment to final payslips and exit certificates.
“We will commence the process of collecting the requisite information of the Appellants in the above appeal for the purpose of verification and subsequently processing claims arising out of the Judgement from Monday, 22 September 2025 at Almary Green Business Park, off U.S.I.U Road, off Thika Superhighway, Nairobi, daily on weekdays between 9am and 3pm,” the statement noted.
For the families of those who have passed away during the lengthy legal process, the requirements are more stringent. Estate administrators must provide original death certificates, grants of probate, and proof of relationship to the deceased, alongside the employment evidence.
The case originated when Abdalla Osman & 628 others alleged that their retirement benefits under the Standard Chartered Kenya Pension Fund were under-computed. They claimed that in exercising actuarial valuations, trustees had used incorrect factors, failed to include cost-of-living adjustments and housing allowances, and neglected future increases that were due under the 1999 Trust Deed and Rules. They also alleged that a KSh 1.1 billion surplus in the fund was returned to the bank rather than being used to enhance member benefits.
In April 2022, RBAT ruled in favour of the retirees. The tribunal ordered the bank and trustees to re-compute both lump-sum and monthly pension payments, incorporating allowances and cost-of-living adjustments, and to refund the surplus with interest from 2000.
Standard Chartered and its trustees challenged the tribunal’s ruling via the High Court and Court of Appeal but were unsuccessful. The Court of Appeal, in March 2025, upheld the RBAT decision.
On 5 September 2025, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed Standard Chartered’s petition to halt execution of the tribunal’s orders. The bank had sought to stay the earlier ruling, arguing procedural and jurisdictional flaws, invoking sections of Kenya’s Constitution and the Fair Administrative Action Act.
However, the Supreme Court found that the case did not raise novel constitutional issues of interpretation or application significant enough to warrant jurisdiction under Article 163(4)(a) of the Constitution.
The Court reaffirmed the earlier determinations: that trustees must adhere to the Trust Deed and trust rules; that actuarial valuations must be correct; and that benefits must include all allowances and adjustments as prescribed.
The ruling now obligates Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and its trustees to implement the recalculation and payouts as ordered by RBAT. The decision also forces the refund of the KSh 1.1 billion pension surplus, plus interest accrued since the year 2000.
Representatives of the 629 former employees welcomed the ruling as overdue justice. Many have suffered delays in receiving rightful benefits, with some claimants deceased before the earlier decisions were enforced.
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