National Insurance retirement benefits

THE National Insurance Act Chapter 32:01 was proclaimed in 1971 with the National Insurance Board (NIB) being established by an Act of Parliament, No 35 of 1971. The National Insurance System/Scheme (NIS) was intended and is supposed to be a social security net, providing economic safety to the workers of the nation, especially the vulnerable.

NIB in its website states, inter alia, “The NIBTT takes pride in being a customer-oriented and service-driven organisation responsible for the operation and administration of the country's National Insurance System (NIS), which provides protection to over 600,000 insured persons against the economic and social distress caused by loss of earnings arising out of work-related injuries and other contingencies.

"We continue to focus on improving efficiency and creating new opportunities for serving our 634,381 customers. Today we stand proud, adding value to our customers' lives with 23 benefits in seven categories, 14 conveniently located service centres and a vision for the future. We continue to make provisions so that your life's journey will be a little easier with each passing year.”

NIB’s website further lists its mission as, "The effective management of National Insurance through good governance, technological advancements and empowered employees, to ensure quality service delivery," and its core values as “collaboration and commitment, accountability, resourcefulness and resilience and empathy.”

These statements are laudable and give the members of the NIS, the insured, a sense of hope. However, when these statements, which guide the core operation of the organisation, are not presented and achieved, then these are just empty words with no link to tangible actions. One gets a sense that the NIB is not following the fundamental underpinnings which drive the strategic direction of the organisation and that this is not drilled downwards and translated into actions on the part of the employees.

Recently retired and soon to be retired members of the teaching service are facing a double whammy upon completion of their many years of meritorious and dedicated service to national development, empowering the nation’s children and renewing the most important resource of our nation, its human resource.

Their superannuation benefits are paid months, even years, after retirement and most recently their NIS retirement benefit is not paid due to the records at the NIB not reflecting the accurate number of contributions.

The insured person under the National Insurance Act is directed to get a statement from the Ministry of Education, NIB section, which will reflect the true number of weekly contributions. Our members have complied and are waiting almost a year to receive the said statement.

The reason proffered by the ministry is the presence of mould in the "vault" where the paper-based records are kept. The retiree has to make an appointment to submit the statement to the NIB, with the appointment date usually a month or more after attempting to secure an appointment. It is unimaginable to believe that our retirees are subjected to such atrocities.

The NIS retirement benefit, in the past, supplemented the retirees’ income until they received their pension and gratuity, but not again. One must remember that both retiree benefits are the properties of the retiree and to deny the payment in a reasonable time is illegal.

The human aspect cannot be ignored as many retirees have utilised the majority of their savings, including their recent arrears of the settlement for the periods 2014 to 2017 and 2017 to 2020. This is no way to treat people who dedicated their lives in the service of their country. Is the NIB fulfilling its mandate in providing "protection to over 600,000 insured persons against the economic and social distress?"

The records of the NIB as it pertains to the contributions of the insured should be fairly simple to update due to the fact that the list of insured is supposedly shared every month. Advanced technology, which the mission of the NIB clearly states, allows for the importation of the data which will update the insured’s information. It is hoped that these processes are not done manually by data-entry clerks.

Furthermore, section 32 of the act provides for an authorised NIB officer to inspect the records of any employer. The NIB should, upon realising that the contributions on record do not match the contributions supposedly sent by the ministry, appoint an officer(s) to reconcile the records of both entities.

The current situation is placing undue stress on the class of citizens who deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour at a time when they need it the most.