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Transforming the Pensionable Age in the Public Service

Oct 02, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

There is no question about the highly published mood of reformation obtaining over the past several weeks, albeit not all of which is realisable.
Indeed one area of constipation over the last two decades is the pensionable age in the Public Service of 55 years (since the colonial past) – which has been the lowest of that in Caricom countries for more than a decade. The others range from at least sixty (60) to more than 65 years.
But even at home the pensionable age of the Public Service does not match that of most, if not all, Public Sector organisations (including Constitutional Agencies) whose formal retirement age is 60 years, for example:
 Audit Office of Guyana
 Guyana Revenue Authority
 Guyana Sugar Corporation
 Guyana Geology and Mines Commission
 GuyOil
 Guyana National Shipping Corporation
 Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation – just to name a few; with Guyana Power and Light maintaining a retirement threshold of 65 years ever since it was a Canadian-owned company prior to Independence. Of course most Private Sector organisations operate schemes with pension eligibility of age 60.
Logic would have suggested that when the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) was established in 1969 with a qualifying pension benefit at age 60, the appropriate adjustment would have been made – to ensure that members would have made the necessary number of contributions to satisfy eligibility for the benefit.
As it turned out there followed too many stories of persons having to negotiate contribution eligibility gaps with the NIS, consequent upon relatively later ages of recruitment.
The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service has addressed this issue quite adequately, concluding that this particular reform is long overdue.
One looks forward therefore to urgent action in this regard.

E.B. John

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