Dear Editor,
Please allow me space in your newspaper to respond to comments which appeared in the Guyana Times article dated January 7, 2015 under the caption ‘NIS achieved major success in 2014.’
Paragraph two (2) stated “…Dianne Baxter Lewis noted that NIS has been making a profit, hence, the decision taken to increase the Old Age Pension in 2015, a move that the Scheme has not made in quite some time.”
Please note that this statement is inaccurate as reported since the Scheme has over the years awarded increases on the minimum pension each time the government increased public servants’ minimum wage, despite the marginal financial position of NIS over the last few years.
Please note also that the total percentage payable is 14% of insurable earnings for employees earning more than fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars and 13 % of insurance earnings for employees earning fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollars and less per month.
The current insurable earnings ceiling is one hundred and seventy thousand, eight hundred and twelve dollars ($170,812.00) per month and thirty-nine thousand, four hundred and eighteen dollars ($39,418.00) per week with effect from January 1, 2015.
Please be further advised that self-employed persons pay on a rate of 12.5% of their declared income but are subject to the same insurable earnings ceiling as the employed person.
Yours faithfully,
Dianne Lewis-Baxter
Publicity & Public Relations Officer
National Insurance Scheme -Guyana
