Gov’t pensioners get increases
GOVERNMENT pensioners have been given increases of between $500 and $1,500 per month in new rates, effective from July 1.
The new rates were announced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday by the minister of finance and planning, Dr Omar Davies, who also tabled a Ministry Paper giving details.
Top earning pensioners, those receiving $75,000 per month and above, will get $500 more per month, while the lowest paid, those earning under $20,000 per month will get $1,500 more per month.
Davies said that the increases will affect only those pensioners, approximately 84 per cent of the government’s 21,000 pensioners, who are paid monthly by the Accountant General’s Department. The other 3,000 are paid by other agencies.
Pensioners previously covered by the United Kingdom/Jamaica Public Officers agreement will not benefit from these increases, because of the disparity between their pensions and those of their local counterparts.
The total package will cost the government $277.6 million this year. However, consulting actuary, Coke and Associates/Eckler Partners, has indicated that the cost will be within the budgeted allocation, as no provision will be made for deaths between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007.
