Kamla: Government must come clean on pensions

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the government should make it clear "whether the pensions of hundreds of thousands of our citizens are in jeopardy."

She said the most recent NIB (National Insurance Board) reports are grim and that Finance Minister Colm Imbert only publicised it as he was challenged in court.

On Thursday, a Chaguanas man got the court’s permission to proceed with an application seeking to compel Imbert to lay the NIB annual reports for 2019 and 2020.

The claim alleges the last time an annual report for the NIB was laid in Parliament was January 11, 2019, for the financial year 2018.

The matter was adjourned to August 30.

In Parliament on Friday, Imbert made a statement on the NIB's annual report for the year ended June 30, 2020.

He said the report showed the number of contributors in the National Insurance System (NIS) during 2020 was 404,197, declining by four per cent from 420,638 in 2019.

He also said the number of beneficiaries increased by 0.9 per cent to 204,613 from 202,800 last year.

He said, "The ageing population continues to be a concern of the NIBTT."

He said this is represented by a decrease in the number of births, resulting in a decline in the working population and a sharp increase in the number of NIS pensioners.

"Furthermore, since 2010, the number of pensioners has increased by over 50 per cent, with the number of pensioners projected to increase again by as much as 40 per cent in the next ten years.

"This huge increase will put a strain on the system, as a shrinking contributory base is required to support a growing number of beneficiaries."

In a release, Persad-Bissessar said she had been calling on Imbert to present these reports since the last budget and that he continually ignored her.

"It was only when he was challenged in court that he was forced to run to Parliament to lay reports which should have been presented since 2019.

"Minister Imbert’s haste to lay these reports is an admission of his guilt of negligence and breach of his statutory duties in laying these reports in a timely manner. It is clear to see why the minister would risk bringing his office and Gazetted duties into disrepute as the elements contained within the report paint a grave and troubling picture regarding employment and the fate of hundreds of thousands of pensioners."

She said it was shameful he tried to discuss "the failed issues of the fund which he hid for over two years" in ten minutes.

"We now see some of what was being hidden. These reports clearly highlight that under the Rowley regime, as at June 2020, 113,000 people have lost their jobs since 2015. This is proven by the significant decrease in the number of contributors to the fund. The NIB Fund has been pushed to the point of insolvency due to the decline in contributions by over 112 thousand persons."

She said although the topic of pension age being raised from 60 to 65 is just a rumour, it may soon become reality.

"This Rowley regime has been the least transparent government in our history demonstrating a clear policy of denying the public vital information on the nature of state agencies and deliberately running from those demanding the truth.

"An ordinary citizen had to go to court to demand transparency from this PNM Government. Try as he might, Keith Rowley cannot run from the truth forever - the truth is now catching up with his lies."