Mark: Life certificates outdated

OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark said it is unacceptable that retired public servants and contract workers still have to provide life certificates to receive their pension payments.

Mark made this observation during a public hearing of the Public Administration and Appropriations (PAAC) joint select committee at Tower D of the Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre.

Describing this system as “outdated,” Mark said these people should not have to physically present themselves at various government departments with a document just to prove “I am alive.” Comptroller of Accounts Catherine Laban said her office is examining the possibility of undertaking a system similar to one used by the National Insurance Board to remedy the problems Mark referred to. She was hopeful this system could be implemented in October.

Mark also asked whether some kind of electronic platform could be created to help retired public servants and contract workers to track the progress of their payments. Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Maurice Suite said such a solution is possible, but there was a need to look at how pensions are currently structured. He said legislative changes could be needed regarding the way pensions are calculated. Suite said if this was not done, it could just result in computerising a system which is less than ideal. He added there is “no standing team dedicated to this specific exercise.”

PAAC chairman Bridgid Annisette-George asked if there was a proactive way to determine exactly how many people would be retiring from any government department at a particular time. Annisette-George, who is also Speaker of the House of Representatives, said retired public servants and contract workers must be certain that their payments would be processed in a reasonable space of time.