Publication: Making Pension Savings Easy and Efficient for Informal Sector Workers - Learning from Kenya’s Haba Haba Pilot
Loading...
Date
2024-05-21
ISSN
Published
2024-05-21
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Haba Haba, which means “bit by bit” in Swahili, is a voluntary pension scheme in Kenya for workers in informal employment and promises to be a scheme through which they can slowly but surely save for their old age. The scheme, administered by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) was launched as a pilot in 2019. Haba Haba allows for easy, anytime, anywhere savings by informal economy workers. Registration, contributions, and access can be handled via mobile phone by dialing USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) *303# or by contacting the NSSF via WhatsApp. The registration process only requires an individual’s first and last names, and government identification (ID) number. Contributions can be paid in person at NSSF offices or through the mobile money platform M-Pesa.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2024. Making Pension Savings Easy and Efficient for Informal Sector Workers - Learning from Kenya’s Haba Haba Pilot. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41578 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Impact Assessments in Finance and Private Sector Development : What Have We Learned and What Should We Learn?(2009-05-01)Until recently rigorous impact evaluations have been rare in the area of finance and private sector development. One reason for this is the perception that many policies and projects in this area lend themselves less to formal evaluations. However, a vanguard of new impact evaluations on areas as diverse as fostering microenterprise growth, microfinance, rainfall insurance, and regulatory reform demonstrates that in many circumstances serious evaluation is possible. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and distil the policy and implementation lessons emerging from these studies, use them to demonstrate the feasibility of impact evaluations in a broader array of topics, and thereby help prompt new impact evaluations for projects going forward.Publication The Determinants of Rising Informality in Brazil : Evidence from Gross Worker Flows(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-10)This paper studies gross worker flows to explain the rising informality in Brazilian metropolitan labor markets from 1983 to 2002. This period covers two economic cycles, several stabilization plans, a far-reaching trade liberalization, and changes in labor legislation through the Constitutional reform of 1988. First, focusing on cyclical patterns, the authors confirm that for Brazil, the patterns of worker transitions between formality and informality correspond primarily to the job-to-job dynamics observed in the United States, and not to the traditional idea of the informal queuing for jobs in a segmented market. However, the analysis also confirms distinct cyclical patterns of job finding and separation rates that lead to the informal sector absorbing more labor during downturns. Second, focusing on secular movements in gross flows and the volatility of flows, the paper finds the rise in informality to be driven primarily by a reduction in job finding rates in the formal sector. A small fraction of this is driven by trade liberalization, and the remainder seems driven by rising labor costs and reduced flexibility arising from Constitutional reform.Publication Untying the Land Knot : Making Equitable, Efficient, and Sustainable Use of Industrial and Commercial Land(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-05-24)A decade ago in Mozambique, a stakeholder workshop where the need to improve access to industrial and commercial land as a means to encourage investment was a topic of discussion, a government official came up to. In order to create new jobs, generate more income, and modernize the economy, many countries see an urgent need to encourage industrial and commercial investment, both domestic and foreign. However, investment in many sectors cannot take place unless land, along with other basic factors of production, is available. This book written from the point of view of investors, and focusing on industrial and commercial land, presents what the authors have learned from the developing world through years of first-hand observation and empirical research. Amid endless stories of land policy failures, we chose to look at encouraging cases, accompanied by a set of technical discussion papers, to provide a fresh look into how some pilot reforms were tested, and to various extents succeeded, in a range of countries. The experiences and lessons learned support the argument that land policy and institutional reforms, difficult as they are politically, institutionally, and technically, are necessary if development goals are to be achieved. They further support the argument that reform is possible, even in some of the most difficult environments. Finally, they suggest that an incremental approach aimed at addressing a bottleneck issue can be helpful so long as the government keeps the long-term objectives in sight. The materials presented in this book make clear that well-designed and well-implemented reforms can make business access to land equitable, efficient, and transparent, encouraging more and sustainable investment while bringing significant benefits to all citizens.Publication Informality in Colombia : Implications for Worker Welfare and Firm Productivity(World Bank, 2010-03-01)The level of informality in Colombia's labor market is high and persistent. When measuring informality of workers in terms of their contributions to health insurance and pension systems, 74.2 percent of all Colombian labor force was considered informal in 2008. The informality debate has taken on a new sense of urgency, as Colombia's robust economic growth in recent years has not led to significant declines in informality. Even during the period of high economic growth experienced between 2001 and 2007, the share of workers in the informal sector remained very high. This report presents new insights to develop a better understanding of the nature, causes, and consequences of informality and its implications for social policies. The study analyzes informality using the conceptual framework presented in the World Bank flagship study on informality (Perry et al 2007), which shows that informality in the region is a function of both exclusion and exit, with some workers and firms opting out of the formal sector based on their assessment of the relative benefits and costs of formality versus informality. The focus of this report is on exploring options to enhance worker welfare and firm productivity through access to public goods and services, including social protection and productive inputs. Hence, the report adopts definitions and measures of informality separate measures for workers and firms that directly capture the extent to which they are linked to the state and, thus, to public goods and services.Publication Kenya Social Protection Sector Review : Executive Report(Nairobi, 2012-06)There is now broad consensus among policymakers that social protection is a powerful way to fight poverty and promote inclusive growth. This international consensus is most clearly articulated in the African Union's Social Policy Framework (SPF), which was endorsed by all African heads of state in 2009. The SPF explains that social protection includes 'social security measures and furthering income security; and also the pursuit of an integrated policy approach that has a strong developmental focus, such as job creation' the SPF commits governments to progressively realizing a minimum package of essential social protection that covers essential health care and benefits for children, informal workers, the unemployed, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Kenya has a long history of investing in social protection. Social protection in Kenya is defined as 'policies and actions, including legislative measures, that enhance the capacity of and opportunities for the poor and vulnerable to improve and sustain their lives, livelihoods, and welfare, that enable income-earners and their dependents to maintain a reasonable level of income through decent work, and that ensure access to affordable healthcare, social security, and social assistance.' However, the coverage of its social insurance schemes and safety net programs has tended to be low and their effectiveness limited. In 2005/06 the rate of poverty was 47 percent, although poverty rates were markedly higher in rural areas (50 percent) than in urban areas (34 percent). They also varied among provinces from a high of 74 percent in the North Eastern province to a low of 22 percent in Nairobi. This persistent poverty highlights the fact that social protection can play an important role in the effort to reduce poverty and promote human development in Kenya.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Unlocking the Power of Healthy Longevity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-12)The World Bank has a long history of engaging in population issues, ranging from childhood illness, nutrition, fertility, and safe motherhood to the aging process. It supports countries in addressing the implications of the demographic process through analytical work, technical advice, and financing to expand health coverage, redesign pension systems and social security, and undertake actions that support their economies. This report follows that tradition and analyzes the steps to promote healthy longevity and enhance the quantity and quality of human capital through attention to the burgeoning problem of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Research began before COVID and concluded after, drawing upon lessons from the pandemic. The report is intended to inform policy and action at the country level. The demographic transformation is a global phenomenon, and the increasing population of the middle-aged and elderly brings with it many challenges which are more acute in low- and middle-income countries where resources are more limited. The increasing number of adults calls upon countries to institute the social and economic measures of ensuring their wellbeing and making them optimally productive. Health must be at the center of these concerns, not only its preservation towards the end but its optimization throughout the life-course. This report builds on a compendium of analytical papers covering the economics of avoidable mortality, long-term care, behavior change, social protection, and whole-of-government solutions to support healthy longevity. It emphasizes that a great deal of ill health globally is a result of inequities—especially poverty and gender inequities that limit or delay access to and use of health care. High out-of-pocket payments for NCDs can plunge households further into poverty or extreme poverty. Women live longer with NCD morbidities.Publication The Brazilian Pension System Under an Equity Lens(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-07)The objective of this note is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Brazilian pension system through an equity lens. This focus is important, because fairness and equity of the pension system are relevant even beyond their intrinsic societal value: they are also instrumental for economic growth, as it impacts the incentives to participate in the labor market, as well as the productivity of current and future workers. Furthermore, political considerations also require that fairness and equity are taken into account in any future pension reform discussions. Section 2 provides general overview of the pension system and briefly explains the recent pension reforms in Brazil, while Section 3 offers a framework for addressing equity issues in the pension context. It explores how Brazilian pension system provides different levels of protection to distinct groups, creating a mismatch between contributions paid and benefits received, not always in a progressive manner. Section 4 concludes with a summary of the findings and a set of policy recommendations.Publication Financial Capability in Colombia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07-01)Colombian authorities have made financial inclusion a core element of the country's socioeconomic development. The Central Bank of Colombia (BRC) requested support from the World Bank to develop and execute a nationally representative survey on financial capability. This report covers the first nationally representative study to detail the financial behavior, attitudes, and knowledge that comprise financial capability. One complementary national study is the annual Household Financial Burden and Education Survey (IEFIC) jointly undertaken by the BRC and the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). This report provides insights on consumer behavior, attitudes, and knowledge relevant to initiatives promoting financial education and financial inclusion. Preliminary insights from this study have been used in developing the National Strategy on Social and Economic Policy (CONPES) document outlining the strategy for financial education in Colombia. There is an ongoing debate over measures that will codify a national financial education strategy into law. This report has following four objectives: (i) to provide empirical evidence on the financial behavior, attitudes, and knowledge of the Colombian population; (ii) to support the design of public policies to enhance both knowledge about and the quality of financial services; (iii) to highlight vulnerabilities and gaps in particular segments of the population with the goal of improving and focusing public policies and interventions where they are most needed; and (iv) to provide a basis for international comparison with other countries for which these data are available. This report describes a baseline measure of the financial capability of the Colombian adult population and highlights key results from the first national survey. This report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two describes key findings related to daily money management and financial planning behaviors and attitudes. Chapter three examines decisions related to the use of financial products and level of financial knowledge. Chapter four summarizes key behaviors and attitudes into financial capability scores, facilitating the creation of profiles and comparisons among different segments of the population. Chapter five presents international comparisons. Chapter six examines the relationship between financial capability, financial knowledge, and financial inclusion. Chapter seven provides policy recommendations related to the key challenges to financial capability identified in the report.Publication Social Protection Inclusion in Indonesia’s Remote Areas - Identifying and Addressing Gaps and Challenges(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-31)This report assesses specific barriers experienced by poor and vulnerable households in Indonesia with accessing social protection benefits in remote areas and recommends specific policy and operational measures to improve access and mitigate potential risks of further exacerbating exclusion for these households.Publication At Your Service?: The Promise of Services-led Growth in Uzbekistan(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-07)In Uzbekistan, the services sector accounts for more than half of all jobs and has been central to the process of structural transformation over the past three decades. In the past decade, the growth of Uzbekistan’s services exports has lagged behind its manufactures' exports while FDI greenfield announcements to both sectors have been even. The growth of the services sector in the past five years was driven by social services, mostly reflecting increased public spending. This report groups the services sector into four categories based on their skill intensity, the extent of their linkages with other sectors, and their tradability in international markets: low-skilled consumer services, low-skilled enabling services , global innovator services. Of these groups, social services accounted for three-fourths of employment growth in the services sector between 2017–2022. These services also experienced relatively high rates of labor productivity growth, which was largely driven by higher public spending on wages and salaries.