Dear Claudienne,

On November 29, 2013, I wrote the permanent secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health a letter on behalf of a former employee of the ministry.

The former employee, who now lives in the US, worked in the Mosquito Control Programme during the period from 1963 to 1981 when he resigned and migrated to the US. He worked as a spray man and later served as insect inspector, a post to which he was permanently appointed and from which he resigned in 1981.

A reminder was sent to the PS on February 11, 2014, and a letter was sent to the Ministry of Finance dated February 11, 2014.

Since 2005 attempts to secure a settlement on his terminal benefits, having attained the retirement age of 60 years, have proven futile, as to date he has had no response from either the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Finance & Planning. To compound the matter, his application for his NIS pension has been stymied by the fact that the Ministry of Health has not yet been able to provide the National Insurance Office with details of the deductions made from his salary during his employment with the ministry, on the grounds that his file cannot be located. He served the government and people through the Ministry of Health for over 20 years and needs to have both matters finalised as a matter of urgency.

I would appreciate your help to have these matters speedily and satisfactorily concluded.

VB

Dear VB

We communicated with the PS in the Ministry of Health on this matter and have been advised that your letter was sent to the manager of the Human Resources Division of the Ministry.

The former employee’s claim has been researched by the officer with responsibility for pension matters in the HR department, and Tell Claudienne has been advised that he would not have qualified for a deferred pension as the post in which he was employed was not pensionable during his tenure.

In a telephone conversation you told us that after he was permanently employed to the ministry, he contributed to a Provident Fund. The Pensions officer informed us that the Provident Fund was subsequently updated to the Widows and Orphans Fund. He said that the former employee can apply for a refund of his contributions to the Provident Fund.

The pensions officer said that his category did not become pensionable until 1988, by which time he had already resigned.

In regard to his claim for NIS pension benefits, the officer said that there have been problems in locating his file. They were trying to see how the matter could be resolved so that his NIS contribution records can be sent off to the NIS office.

We will follow this up.

Good luck.

Dear Claudienne,

I currently reside in New York, but I was a teacher in Jamaica for just over 15 years. Two years ago I turned 60 and applied for pension benefits. After a year of submitting documents and being given the runaround, I was told that I needed to have 18 years of service in order to qualify for a pension.

However, on the Ministry of Labour’s website where the guidelines for pensions are set out, it states that in order to qualify for benefits one needs to have at least 10 years of consecutive service or 15 years in total, if there is a break in service (which applies in my case). I have also heard the same from former colleagues. Would you kindly use your good offices to investigate the truth of this matter?

Thanks.

CHE

Dear CHE

The Pensions Division of the Ministry of Finance has advised Tell Claudienne that pension benefits for teachers are not on the Ministry of Labour’s website. Whereas pensions for teachers are regulated by the Pensions (Teachers) Act, the pension guidelines on the Ministry of Labour’s website are regulated by the Pensions Act, the spokesman explained.

He said that teachers who work from “start to finish with no break” are eligible for a pension after they have worked for 10 years.

On the other hand, there are teachers who do not actually work in the profession of teaching for their entire careers, but might take breaks to work at other occupations then return to teaching periodically. Teachers who take breaks from teaching from time to time must have a minimum of 18 years of actual teaching to qualify for a pension, the spokesman said.

You are likely to know which category you fall in.

Good luck.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.