Opposition calls for full NIS pension for persons with 500 contributions and above

Apr 12, 2025 News

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…says one-off payment provides no security

Kaieteur News- The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has described the $10B injection into the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) by the Government of Guyana (GoG), to facilitate a one-off payment to individuals who fail to meet 750 contributions, as an elections gimmick.

During an Opposition press conference on Friday, PNCR Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul addressed the issue and proposed an alternative where persons with as little as 500 contributions would benefit from their full pension.

He said, “The PPP’s sporadic, inadequate, or one-off measures will do little to ease the cost of living, ensure food security, eradicate poverty, raise living standards, and guarantee a high quality of life…its recent announcements on entitlements are purely desperate moves as it caves in to widespread public frustration and opposition pressure in an election year.”

On Thursday, President Irfaan Ali in a live broadcast to the nation announced that senior citizens who have not qualified for NIS pension will be receiving a one-off cash grant between $250,000 and $650,000.

The Department of Public Information (DPI) reported that the programme caters to elderly citizens who have attained the age of 60 on or before December 31, 2024, but did not meet the 750 requirements to access NIS pension.

Senior citizens who have made between 500 and 749 contributions will receive the following one-off payments: 500 to 549 contributions – $260,000; 550 to 599 contributions – $390,000; 600 to 699 contributions – $520,000 and persons who made 700 to 749 contributions – $650,000.

Mahipaul at the press conference explained that it was not unlikely for the GoG to return to the National Assembly for a Supplementary Budget to provide resources to fulfill this announcement, along with the recent decision to finance the first eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects for students sitting the exams from this year.

Meanwhile, when asked by this newspaper for an alternative to the one-off payment announced by the President, Mahipaul explained, “We are thinking along the line of having a prorated sum, adjustments to the law of course for it to be permitted, and to move in a direction of having a comprehensive study done to understand how is it that you can get the maximum benefits to the people who deserve it really and truly.”

In a subsequent interaction with Kaieteur News, the MP told this newspaper that persons who have contributed over 500 payments to the organization should be entitled to a full NIS pension.

Additionally, he suggested as a “fairer alternative” that persons with less than 350 contributions receive 85% of total contributions as a grant, or full NIS pension until age the age of 65. For individuals with between 400 to 485 contributions, Mahipaul suggested that these persons be paid 80% of their contributions or full NIS pension until 65.

He was keen to note that there are Guyanese who may have contributed a lot more than the one-off payment that will be distributed in keeping with the President’s announcement.

Mahipaul also pointed out that in some instances individuals who failed to meet the threshold are not responsible since their employers could have failed to make payments to the NIS, although making salary deductions; while others may have administrative issues such as incorrectly spelt names.

It was reported on Friday that Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram criticised government’s handout of a one-off grant to pensioners who have not met the required number of contributions.

To put the announcement into context, Ram in a letter to this newspaper said, “This sounds substantial until one realises it amounts to just $84.80 per day when spread across the average 8.4-year pension term (from age 60 to the average pensioner’s age of 68.4 years).”

He noted too: “Those with 550-599 contributions receive $390,000 ($127.20 daily for the rest of their expected lives)- those with 600-699 contributions receive $520,000 ($169.60 daily for the rest of their expected lives) those with 700-749 contributions receive $650,000 ($212.00 daily for the rest of their expected lives).”

Ram said the pensioners who will benefit from the grants would have dedicated over a decade to formal employment, dutifully making their NIS contributions, and now being “awarded what can only be described as a pittance in return.

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• contributions, Mahipaul, NIS, opposition, pension, PNCR

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