Retired TELCO/TSTT workers, families seek pension payments

Retired workers of Telecommunications Services (TSTT) and its predecessor, Telephone Company (TELCO) are pleading with the TSTT executive for their agreed increased pension payments.

Former manager at the company Ian Clarke has written to TSTT CEO Lisa Agard on behalf of 1,500 pensioners and their families.

In the letter he pointed out instances of pensioners seeking relief.

Clarke held several TSTT positions before he retired, including manager of employee services.

The letter came in the wake of allegations that TSTT's pension fund had been mismanaged.

Clarke said since the allegations have become public knowledge, he has been inundated with calls and messages from pensioners and their families about the severe hardship they have been experiencing.

He said, "Many of them complain of having significant monthly medical expenses and increased living expenses, including utility bills, motor vehicle upkeep, home maintenance and other critical expenses which are often unplanned and often arise in cases of an emergency nature."

Clarke said he knew of TELCO/TSTT pensioners who were classified as senior staff and who receive monthly pensions of over $10,000, but some former junior staff, by contrast, were receiving less than $1,000 a month.

He said a pension valuation exercise by the actuaries of the plan, Bacon Woodrow and de Souza, on March 31 showed the plan had a surplus of more than $771.1 million. RBC is the plan's trustee.

Discussions earlier this year between TSTT and the CWU, he said, led to agreement on three critical matters:

· The payment of minimum pension levels to retired employees.

· The reinstatement of three per cent of monthly pension and a one-off payment to retirees for for 2009-2020 to compensate for the company's stopping annual pension increases. Elder said no reason was given for the stoppage.

· The reimbursement of 1.5 per cent of monthly salary deducted by mistake from employees' contributions to the pension plan for 1994-2000.

The union president said no date has yet been set for the payment of the increase.

Clarke said actuaries said the cost of making these changes would amount to approximately $200,000 and would not adversely affect the plan.

He said Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales met with the CWU on Monday, but the pensioners and plans for their payments were not discussed.

Calls to both the minister and TSTT CEO Agard went unanswered up till press time.