Dear Claudienne,

I worked as a school traffic warden, from 1991 to 2013 in St Elizabeth, and retired.

After retiring I applied for my NIS pension more than two years ago but have not heard from them.

I have been to the NIS office in Santa Cruz to find out when I will begin to get the pension but I have not been able to get any information.

I would appreciate your help.

SS

Dear SS,

When Tell Claudienne checked with the NIS St Elizabeth parish office they responded as follows:

“I have emailed the Kingston and St Andrew (KSA) NIS dept about the SS claim and was informed that they are having challenges with retrieving contributions update from the National Security Ministry for SS and other applicants. The situation is further compounded by the relocation of records for that dept due to a sick building issue that they have had to deal with.

I have shared the situation with the parish manager and she has indicated that she will make further contacts to address the situation. I am committed to doing further.”

On getting this information, the column communicated with the office of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Security.

The permanent secretary’s office then contacted the office of the commissioner of police, where a “paper based “search was done for your file. On finding your file, the police submitted your NIS deduction information to the Ripon Road office in June 2022.

The officer who searched for your file explained some of the difficulties the administration experiences in locating NIS contributions.

He said that in the past wardens and district constables working at government schools throughout the island were paid by imprest. The information on the deductions for NIS would be recorded in the parishes, then sent to the NIS head office, he said.

You have informed Tell Claudienne that the NIS lodged your pension payment arrears to your bank account on September 29, 2022. The NIS also said that they also put the regular payment in your bank account on October 11.

We wish you all the best.

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