Unionists flay proposal for pension at 65

Local trade unionists are dead set against the raising of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pensionable age from 60 to 65, given that the average life expectancy in Guyana is 66 years.

President of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Patrick Yarde said that instead of raising the NIS’s pensionable age, the administration should be seeking to up the retirement age for public servants so as to close the gap in pension receipts and save the state money.

The National Insurance Reform Committee wrapped up its work some weeks ago and its report is with Cabinet for consideration. Among the recommendations therein is the raising of the age of receipt of pensions from 60 to 65.

Yarde said that the idea to raise the NIS age of pension eligibility to 65 is a ridiculous one. He said that the lifespan of people was much shorter when the age of retirement for public servants had been set at 60.

He said that since people are living longer than before they should be allowed to work longer and contribute to the nation. At the same time, the state would be saved from paying such persons pensions, since they would collect from the NIS, once they attain 60 years.

“The GPSU wants the retirement age for public servants to be 60 and above,” he said, adding that this was the norm in the rest of the Caribbean. He said that when it comes to bringing Guyana in line with the rest of the region, the government does this only when it is convenient.

He said that during the period of consultation for the NIS Reform, the GPSU was not a part of the process. If the GPSU had participated in the talks, he said, this recommendation would not have seen its support.

Yarde is cognisant of the fact that the scheme needs to be prudent in its operations so that it can sustain itself in the future. But he said it needs to be able to provide sufficient benefits for people to comfortable.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) said it wouldn’t sit idly by and watch as the NIS changes its pensionable age from 60 to 65, stating that the age for pension eligibility has its basis in life expectancy.

Norris Witter of the GTUC noted that when public servants retire at age 55, they already have to wait five years, until they get to age 60 to become eligible for NIS pension. “Are we saying that those people have to wait for ten years?” Witter asked. “We will strenuously resist such an increase,” he said.

Witter added that during the consultations, this issue was a sore point for the union.

He called the proposal to raise the current age to 65, “beyond ridiculous.” He said if adjustments are to be made, then they should be made to an age that is sure to guarantee that the person will still be around.

According to the Ministry of Health, official life expectancy figures show that men live to around 64 years old, while women live to around 68.2 years. The average age for both men and women is 66.3 years.

Witter said it might be better to disband the NIS than set the pensionable age to one that the vast majority of men may not reach.

In its report, the National Insurance Reform Committee had said that it was being guided by the trend that people in the region were having longer life expectancies.

Speaking on the issue, President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Komal Chand said that while there is still a need for people who can contribute to continue doing so, at the same time it should be examined whether longer life expectancy justified the raising of the pensionable age by five years.

He said the issue is worth examining since a lot of people are holding office for considerably long periods of time and many others are migrating, thus depleting the skills pool.

General Secretary of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) Culbard said the viability issue that NIS is facing is something that schemes in other countries in the region are confronting. He believes that if the NIS is to survive then these measures have to be implemented.