New measures for pension payments

Cuffie said Cabinet approved and confirmed a note which deals with the backlog of pensions in the Public Service and the Government is putting measures in place to ensure this problem does not recur in the future. The minister said he has received numerous complaints from citizens all across the country about the undue delays and hurdles they face when trying to access their public service pension payments.

In outlining the history of the problem, he said understaffed departments throughout government ministries were a major contributory factor. Additionally, Cuffie indicated, public officers who were trained to deal with pension and leave, a specialized field, got promoted leaving behind new officers who were unfamiliar with that area of work. “Based on PMCD (Public Management Consulting Division) recommendations, we will use predominantly contract officers in staffing the pensions departments and giving them one to three year contracts to ensure you have a cadre of officers dedicated who will not be transferred or promoted and leaving the people’s pension in abeyance,” Cuffie explained.