– Minister Lawrence says pensioners who live in other countries will not be able to access a Guyanese pension
The Ministry of Social Protection will be putting measures in place to ensure Guyanese who live in other countries do not access a Guyanese pension, according to a statement from the Government Information Agency (GINA).
GINA reported that Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, described it as ‘double dipping’ when persons not living in Guyana, access pension from both the Guyanese government and the country in which they live.
“We will be putting an end to persons who are ‘double dipping’…we have persons who believe that it is their right to live in a foreign country and collect their pensions here…we are saying no, it is not going to happen,” Minister Lawrence said.
- Minister Volda Lawrence on a recent outreach exercise to Mahdia, Region 8
She added that last year, this issue was brought to the attention of the staff of the ministry who were advised they will be held responsible and surcharged where books are issued with them knowing the persons do not live in Guyana.
Persons desirous of accessing old age pension will have to be living in Guyana for a minimum of two years.
“In the hinterland regions we know there are persons with more than one identification card who draw (collect) pension under one name in one region then travel to the next and draw under the other name,” Minister Lawrence explained.
According to GINA, she said the issue of double dipping is not limited to accessing pension, but also public assistance for school aged children. The APNU/AFC minister explained that some students are beneficiaries of public assistance in Guyana, but they also benefit from similar assistance in neighbouring Brazil.
“To address this, guardians will have to submit an attendance report for the child so that they can continue accessing such assistance,” GINA quoted Lawrence as saying.
Additionally, the ministry will be digitalising the pension system to make it more efficient in identifying redundancies in the system. GINA said the digitised database will also indicate to the ministry persons who are authorising others to collect their pensions, which is an indication that they are not in Guyana.
The digitalising of the pension database will also see greater accountability within the pension system, and probation officers will have more time do additional field work and conduct visitations.
The Social Protection Ministry has engaged the Ministry of Public Telecommunications to ensure that the two agencies can collectively run a pilot of this electronic project.
I understand the Minister point but what if a person worked in Guyana from age 17 up until 55 and then migrated? That person paid their dues and should receive their pension.
I am wondering if the Minister knows what she is trying to do or is she so uneducated to understand what is pension plans about. The people who work and pay the NIS or public servants are entitled by the laws to be paid their rightful pensions regardless which part of the world that they choose to live in. The fact that they have been contributing to the pension schemes gives them the right to collect their pension payments. Or have the money been stolen from the treasury already. Get a grip of yourself Minister or the President will have to send you packing.