Updated 1 November 2026
Updated November 2026
Chama year-end share-out rules are set by your own group, not by a government formula. The rules that matter are in your constitution: who qualifies, how profit is split, what happens to unpaid loans and fines, and how much stays in the account. If your constitution doesn’t cover these, agree them at a minuted meeting before share-out day. Here is a checklist of the rules every chama should have written down, and how to run the day.
Chama year-end share-out rules to agree in writing
| Rule | Questions to settle |
|---|---|
| Cut-off date | Which date closes the books? Contributions and repayments after it count for next year. |
| Who qualifies | Do members who joined mid-year, or who are behind on contributions, get a full share? |
| Profit split | By contributions, equally, or a mix? |
| Loans | Must all loans be repaid before share-out, or are balances deducted from payouts? |
| Defaulters and guarantors | If a loan is bigger than the member’s savings, do guarantors pay? |
| Fines | Profit pool or welfare fund? |
| Seed money | What percentage of profit stays for January lending? |
| Payment method | Bank transfer or M-Pesa to each member’s own number, approved by the signatories. |
Where the rules come from
Self-help groups register with the State Department for Social Protection and submit a constitution, a list of members and minutes (socialprotection.go.ke). Registration lets the group open a bank account in its own name; see how to register a chama in Kenya. A group that grows into a Sacco moves under the Co-operative Societies Act and, if it takes deposits, SASRA supervision, with dividends declared at an annual general meeting.
Running share-out day: a checklist
- Two weeks before: the treasurer circulates each member’s contributions, interest, fines and loan balance. Members flag errors.
- One week before: reconcile the bank and M-Pesa statements with the books.
- Calculate payouts with the agreed rule. Our chama share out calculator does this and checks the total against your cash.
- On the day: read out the list, record approval in the minutes, and get signatories to authorise the transfers.
- After: share the final list on the group’s WhatsApp and keep the minutes and statements.
For the maths behind the payouts, see chama dividend calculation, and for handling disagreements, how to share chama money fairly.
Should you share out everything?
Sharing out the full balance resets the group each year. Keeping some money means lending can continue in January and the account keeps earning. Some groups move the money they keep into a money market fund or fixed deposit; compare MMF rates, fixed deposit rates and the best bank for chamas.
Sample wording for your constitution
These are example clauses to adapt, not legal advice. Agree your own wording at a meeting and record it in the minutes.
- Cut-off: “The financial year ends on 30 November. Contributions and repayments received after that date count towards the next year.”
- Profit split: “Profit shall be shared in proportion to each member’s total contributions for the year.”
- Loans: “Any loan balance outstanding at the cut-off date shall be deducted from the member’s payout. Where the balance exceeds the payout, the member and the guarantors shall agree a repayment plan before the next meeting.”
- Seed money: “Twenty per cent of the year’s profit shall remain in the account for lending in the new year.”
- Fines: “Fines shall be paid into the welfare fund and shall not form part of the profit shared.”
Members who join or leave mid-year
Decide this before it happens. A member who joins in June has had less money in the pot, so sharing by contributions already gives them a smaller dividend. Some groups go further and weight contributions by the months they were held, as explained in our guide to chama dividend calculation. For a member who leaves, the constitution should say whether they get their savings back at once, at the next share-out, or after a notice period, and whether they share in that year’s profit. Paying out a leaving member in full in the middle of the year can leave the group short of money to lend, which is why many groups require notice.
If members disagree on share-out day
Stick to the written rule. If the constitution is silent, pay out what nobody disputes, such as each member’s own contributions, and hold back only the disputed amount until a later meeting decides it by vote. Record the decision and the vote count in the minutes. A rule changed on the day, under pressure, is the most common cause of members leaving a group.
Related chama guides
Chama Share Out Calculator: Fair Year-End Payouts
Frequently asked questions
When do chamas share out?
Whenever the constitution says. Many share out in late November or December, before the holidays and January school fees.
Can a chama refuse to pay a member at share-out?
Only as the constitution allows. Usually any unpaid loan or arrears is deducted, and the balance is paid.
Who approves the share-out?
The members, at a meeting with a quorum, with the decision recorded in the minutes. The bank signatories then authorise the payments.
What records should we keep?
Minutes of the share-out meeting, the payout list, bank and M-Pesa statements, and each member’s contribution and loan records.
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