The longstanding absence of a National Insurance Commissioner has left one elderly woman unable to appeal a decision by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) tribunal to disallow her the payment of survivor’s benefits.
This is the story of Ismay Lake, a 65-year-old widow, who, with her daughter, has been trying to access survivor’s benefits from the NIS for some time now.
Lake’s plight was first highlighted in a letter she wrote, which was published by Stabroek News on June 1st, 2018.
In the letter, she explained that her husband died on July 14th, 1990, leaving behind a child who was 11 years old at the time of his death.