An insult to retirees

When members of Parliament get hefty increases in their salaries for doing little or nothing to ease the plight of the poor, elections are soon approaching. When roads have begun to be paved we know the reason why. When disgruntled and irate citizens stage fiery protests about the roads, etc, and the following day remedial action is taken, we know it is time to start canvassing.

How can a public servant serve his country for 35-40 years and by virtue of his/her age, has retired ten to 20 years ago and receives a monthly pension of between $2000 and $3000 a month. That is an insult and ingratitude to these dedicated and retired officers. I don’t know about the Government Pension Association or Trinidad and Tobago Association for Retired Persons, but it seems to me that there is a deafening silence, I could be wrong. My suggestion Mr Prime Minister since you have raised the Income Tax Personal allowance to a $60,000 ceiling, no pensioner prior to 1966 should be paid less than $4,500 per month with immediate effect. Your generous and prudent gesture to give working people a tax break of up to $60,000 is most commendable, but remember many pensioners who have retired ten years and more are in limbo with a stagnant pension. I anxiously look forward to your statesman like intervention in this bread and butter issue. I hope that you will treat this matter with the urgency that you have treated the Police Reform Bills package.