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Old Age Pension jumps by $1200

Jan 30, 2016 News

…several tax relief measures to come into effect on April 1
The elderly were certainly not forgotten in the 2016 budget as the Finance Minister, yesterday, proposed a number of measures that are guaranteed to make their life a little easier.
The Finance Minister said that come April 1, the elderly will benefit from an increase in their pension. He said that Old Age Pension will increase from $17,000 to $18,200. Jordan said that nearly 50,000 pensioners are expected to benefit from this measure.
Jordan told the National Assembly that in the short space of eight months, the Coalition Government has been able to increase old age pension by 38.7 percent, the largest increase in recent memory, and a testimony to its commitment to govern in the interest of all Guyanese.
Also effective as of April 1, is an increase in Public Assistance from $6,500 to $7,300. The Minister of Finance said that over 9,600 persons will benefit from an almost 24 percent increase since the Coalition Government took office.
Other measures will also come into effect on the April 1. In this respect, Jordan revealed that all Guyanese citizens 65 years and older will no longer be required to pay for a driver’s licence.
This particular measure sent almost all members of the House, including Jordan, into a fit of laughter. The Opposition remarked, “They sneaked into the budget 2016, another measure for the “Ole boys”.
After the much needed break in what appeared to be an intense budget presentation for over three hours by Jordan, he moved on to the next measure in place to support the elderly.
He said that all Guyanese citizens 65 years and older will be exempt from travel tax when travelling overseas on a Guyanese passport. However, Jordan said that they will still be required to pay the Airport Security Tax of $1,500.
The Finance Minister told the House that Government will continue to examine other ways of easing the burden on elderly citizens, as they too look to enjoy the Good Life in their senior years.
In this regard, he said that Government will turn its attention to the plight of former public servants and parliamentarians, whose current pensions neither reflect the years of service given nor the positions from which they retired.
He said that this is because their pensions have been substantially eroded because of depreciation of the Guyana dollar and inflation over the years. Jordan also proposed to increase the pensions payable to ex-employees of Guyana Telecommunications Corporation.
He said that these pensioners have waged a prolonged struggle to get their correct pension, but were denied by the past regime. He said that the increases will be effective from April 1, 2016.  The House is expected to resume its business on February 8.  (Kiana Wilburg)

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