‘Dead’ man turns up at NIS to collect his money

May 17, 2009 News

…we can’t clear this up right now – says Head Office

An overseas-based Lindener is befuddled how he could have ended up on a list of the dead used by the National Insurance Scheme.

Charles La Rose of 1000 President Street, Brooklyn, New York, and of 242 Silvertown, Linden, said he received the “tragic” news when he visited the NIS Linden Branch recently to query the nonpayment of monies into his Republic Bank account.

There he discovered that he was “deceased” according to NIS records- thus no monies had been paid into his account since last year.

According to La Rose, who is now in Guyana to renovate his house, he recently withdrew $100,000 from his NIS account at Republic Bank and was told that he had withdrawn all his money.

Perplexed, La Rose immediately went to find out why his account only had $100,000, at the NIS Linden Branch on Republic Avenue.

“There a young lady nonchalantly told me that I was on the deceased list! So no monies had been paid into my account since last year,” La Rose exclaimed.

“I asked her, if I am supposedly dead, where then is my death certificate? She said she didn’t know- all she knew is that my name appeared on their deceased list.”

More confused than ever, La Rose said he visited the NIS Head Office in Georgetown, to clear up the mystery.

But instead of clarifying the situation, he was told by an official there, that they were notified of his “demise” by the NIS Linden Branch and that clarifying the situation would take months.

“Why should I wait months for them to clarify this issue, when they can see that I am alive and well? I am now 84 years old and I depend on that money to do so many things. I was employed by the Bauxite Company for 43 years and I retired 1984 to go overseas. I started to receive my NIS pension that very year.

“I returned to Guyana in 1986, and every year thereafter, and every time I would withdraw some money, as the need arose. Now the bank has no more money in my account all because the NIS has deemed me “deceased” and has stopped putting money into my account- money that I worked so hard for forty three years!”

La Rose is asking that those in authority look into his predicament urgently, as he is in need of his money!