Letter of the Day | National Insurance Scheme in need of urgent reform

THE EDITOR, Madam:

With just 20 per cent of Jamaican workers having a private pension plan, the remaining 80% of workers are forced to rely on the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for a retirement pension. But, surprisingly, the framers of the Pensions Act determined that this pension will only be paid on the basis of a contributor reaching the age of 65 or to the surviving married spouse of a deceased contributor. (Of course there is the disability pension for those who become incapacitated and are unable to work any longer.)

Barred from receiving any of their deceased relative’s decades of pension contribution are, according to this act, surviving children, siblings, parents and common-law spouse.

But, with just 13 per cent of the workforce reaching the retirement age of 65, while only 35 per cent of the population are married, there begins to emerge the magnitude of the NIS’s confiscation of contributors’ money.

Did the designers of the act remember that the worker is compelled to contribute to the plan, which would have prevented him from otherwise investing that amount anywhere else, given his limited disposable income?

To deny the deceased relatives these years of contributions is not only unjust, but also cruel, inhumane and an abuse of power.

Like other insurance plans, the NIS should undertake a serious reform to reflect the choice of every contributor to name one or more beneficiaries.

CASHLEY BROWN

cashleybrown@yahoo.com