Ministry of the People to address senior citizens’ pension backlog

THE Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services has said it is taking action to address a backlog in the processing of senior citizens’ pension applications.

A release from the ministry, on May 28, said it has identified specific challenges related to receiving information from the National Insurance Board (NIB) and the Immigration Division which has affected the processing of some applications.

“As of today’s date 1,438 immigration queries and 2,292 NIB queries are pending further information for processing,” the release said.

It said Minister of the People, Social Development and Family Services Vandana Mohit plans to speak to representatives from the Ministry of Homeland Security and the Ministry of Finance to address the backlog.

“Following the discussions the ministry will finalise and implement a comprehensive action plan to ensure the efficient processing of all outstanding pension applications and to prevent future delays,” the release said.

The NIB was established by an act of parliament in 1971.

NIB has the responsibility of operating the country’s National Insurance System (NIS) which provides insurance for 634,381 customers according to its website.

The NIB provides customers with access to 23 benefits, including funeral grants and pension grants.

Last year, then opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar raised a red flag over plans by the government at the time to introduce a policy that would have disqualified elderly citizens with savings of over $25,000 from receiving the pension grant.

After public backlash, then minister of social development Donna Cox rescinded the plans, calling the disqualification an “error.”

But during a parliamentary contribution in December, Persad-Bissessar rubbished the explanation saying that there were several layers of approval needed before the policy was made official including policy development within the ministry, legal vetting and cabinet approval.