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Pensioner waiting to receive benefits from NIS
20 years after accident…
A husband and wife say they are at their wits’ end with the treatment that is meted out to them by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
Laelawattie and Roopnarine Ramrattan of Saffon Street, Charlestown yesterday visited Kaieteur News to highlight their plight.
According to Laelawattie, her husband, who would be 61 years old in a few weeks, was involved in an industrial accident in the North West District some 20 years ago.
She said that at the time of the accident her husband was employed as a carpenter with A. Mazarally and Sons Limited.
Frustrated wife: Laelawattie Ramrattan
The woman said that the accident left her husband with spinal injures which caused him to become physically disabled and dependent on his wife and children.
She explained to this newspaper that after the accident the family went to the National Insurance Scheme with the intention of collecting a substantial amount of compensation, since he was a regular NIS contributor and it was an industrial accident.
The wife said that her husband is still awaiting that money, and presently her husband is given a meagre $3700 monthly for his disability.
When asked about the number of contributions that her husband had made to the NIS, the woman said that at the time the accident occurred her husband had a total of 717 contributions.
The woman said she is peeved because her husband has more than enough contributions, but still cannot receive what is due to him.
Another issue the disgruntled woman raised was the fact that her husband cannot receive his old age pension which he has qualified for.
The woman said that her husband filed the application last year and is yet to receive any word from the corporation.
She said that she has expended a lot of time and energy visiting and calling the NIS in an effort to correct these issues, to no avail.
“I kept calling and going, but everybody just ain’t paying me no mind. One time I went and de supervisor pretend that she on de phone, but I know she wasn’t talking to nobody,” the wife explained.
The visibly frustrated woman opined that “if people paying NIS wholly and solely, and this is the treatment that is meted out to them, then they should stop collecting people’s money, and give the working class another alternative of saving their money”.
She said that she and her husband are forced to survive on her paltry salary, along with help from their five children.
The couple is considering taking legal action against the insurance corporation.
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