A Survey of State of the Information and Communications Technology Implementation in Retirement Benefits Administration in Kenya

Abstract

The need for computer based information systems in retirement benefits schemes are now increasingly inevitable given that, the number of transactions are high and the number of customers is increasing rapidly. In such cases the manual methods of record maintenance and pension administration would be very difficult and complicated. causing retirement benefits schemes a lot of inefficiencies and vulnerability to security breaches. However with the increased introduction of computer based information systems, retirement benefits administrators now vary in their implementation of computer based information systems. This implies that depending on the extent of implementation the benefits and challenges of information systems will vary among the administrators. The implementation of information systems has led to increased competition among administrators it has also Jed to the need of businesses to understand the need for information systems security in order to have integrity and value of information; hence the need for the study on the extent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within retirement benefits administrators. To address the objectives in this study. data were collected from 201 retirement benefits administrators using questionnaires and analyses were done using various statistical tools. The sample was obtained from the retirement benefits authority through stratified sampling on the basis of self-administered and external administrators. Out of these 201 retirement benefits administrators, 157 responded to the questionnaires. The findings of the study show that the majority of the retirement benefits administrators in Kenya appreciate the need for JCT and have implemented Information Technology (IT) with varying degrees. Information Technology supports most of the benefits work and procedures including maintenance of member records, contributions and pension administration. The study also shows that the implementation of ICT brings in numerous benefits among the retirement benefits administrators. Benefits from JCT implementation that were highly ranked included: Maintaining and updating records for contributing members. maintenance of accurate and up-to-date Information. maintenance of more scheme, computation of member benefits in the event of termination and faster response to customer demands. Finally the study identified the main challenges of implementing information systems in retirement benefits administrators in Kenya. These challenges were divided into two categories. The physical challenges and the Logical challenges. Physical challenges are the challenges that are non-application related they are mainly administrative based. Logical challenges are application software based they relate to the challenges posed on the Computer Based Information System. Since data is a key corporate asset and in some cases considered a strategic resource. The researcher recommends that security of information systems should be paramount in any firm wishing to benefit profoundly from ICT and there by improve its competitive position.