A 61-year-old woman of Number 40 Village, Berbice was denied her pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), after being short of the intended target by $1000, which is equivalent to two contributions.
Ingrid Arthur was employed by a State institution, and worked from 1997 to 2014.
After Arthur was laid off, she received a correspondence from the NIS office, where it was confirmed that her contributions were intact.
In fact, she was required to make 750 contributions but made 752 instead, which qualified her to be paid her monthly pension.
However, six months prior to her 60th birthday, she received another contribution statement which showed that she made 748 contributions to the Scheme, having a shortfall of two contributions.
Speaking with this publication, a close associate of the woman, Patrick Hamilton, said that the situation regarding Arthur is “outrageous”.
“She worked from 1997 to 2014. She had received a document which said that she reached the contribution in 2014. Then last year, I don’t know how they revise it and told her that she was short by just $1000. It’s the same people that check and verify in the first instance. When you look at the calculation, its two contributions that she is short by.”
He stated that NIS offered the woman a payout of $100,000 by having her sign a document.
However, she rejected the offer. The woman is standing by the first calculation sent to her by NIS.
“They offered her a $100,000 payout but she didn’t take the money. She wanted to know what was going on,” he stated. The woman has been unable to get any proper explanation from NIS.
