by Linda Straker
- 2,000 plus former public officers currently receive monthly payments
- Government retirees have begun receiving gratuity and pension payments retroactively from 1985
- Over 300 retirees collectively received EC$44 million from the State
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has told government retirees who, as of Tuesday, 15 November 2022 began receiving delayed gratuity and pension payments retroactively from 1985, that they should spend the money wisely.
“We are happy to make good on this promise. We are happy that those who have been in the rain can finally have a raincoat or an umbrella over them. We are happy that they can now get their pension to spend,” the Prime Minister, who is also the Finance Minister, said during a news conference where a symbolic cheque was handed over to a 2004 retiree.
He advised over 300 retirees who collectively received EC$44 million from the state, “I want to encourage all of you to please use the money wisely, invest if you can, treat it as a pension… don’t spend all immediately because you have to be able to live off the pension as long as you are alive and we all know as you get older, health issues tend to crop up and you become more vulnerable.”
In February 1985, the Pension Disqualification Act approved by the Houses of Parliament of Grenada members disqualified all established public officers from receiving a state pension. The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) became the sole board responsible for paying pensions. In March 2022, a judge ruled that the Pension Disqualification Act was unconstitutional, resulting in reinstating pension and gratuity payments to all retired established public officers.
The Prime Minister said, “I am happy that my administration was able to make good on its commitment to pay the pension. Although this matter took several decades, the fact that we made the decision early, the fact that a pension secretariat was formed quickly and well-staffed, and the personnel there worked hard to make it reality, is testament to our people as a commitment to make sure that things happen.”
He described the payment which will increase to EC$75 million by 30 November as the biggest transfer of wealth to citizens from the state. “This is no small feat, the transfer of EC$44 million from the state to the citizens and eventually the projection is as much as EC$75 million… is perhaps the largest transfer of wealth from the government to the citizens in the history of Grenada, post-independence,” he said. Grenada, a former colony of Great Britain, gained independence in 1974.
“We have to appreciate that it is just not a symbolic gesture, but we are talking here fundamentally about the well-being of our citizens. If people work for 30, 40 years to build the State of Grenada and we let them retire into poverty it is the state of Grenada that is doing a disservice,” he added.
Though hundreds of people have worked in the public service since 1985 only 523 are currently qualified to receive pension and gratuity payments. Mike Sylvester, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, said that their names will be added to the existing 2,000 plus former public officers who currently receive monthly payments.
