The announcement on Thursday by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh that he will be conducting a nationwide outreach on problems that members of the public have with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is most welcome.
In a statement, Mr Singh noted the Government’s grave concern at the number of complaints received from contributors about delays in accessing their benefits and entitlements most often as a result of incomplete records of their contributions to the Scheme.
The first outreach meeting is scheduled to be held at the Giftland Mall, Turkeyen, Georgetown between 10 am and 8 pm today and we urge members of the public to make full use of it. Sporadic attempts have been made by governments and the NIS itself over the years to comprehensively address these problems but the complaints persist. Moreover, these complaints pertain in large part to a section of the population of advanced age, many with infirmities, unable to commute back and forth to NIS offices and in some cases living on their own without others to help them. They need assistance to be able to succeed in their cases. They need an advocate on their side.
The introduction of video calls by the NIS earlier this year for the completion of life certificates was a welcome development. Previously, pensioners had to physically visit the various offices for confirming purposes and this would have naturally been difficult for some persons.
Over the 34 years of its existence, Stabroek News has received and published large numbers of letters from contributors to the NIS about the enduring problems in obtaining service and satisfaction. The NIS has been responsive to some of these. Just recently, a member of the public complained by way of letter that the query facility on the NIS online portal and the live chat were not functional. After the publication of the letter the member of the public reported that functionality had been restored. The NIS appeared not to have been aware that there was a problem in the first place and that was not a good sign.
The most significant complaint that has been received by this newspaper over the years has been eligibility for the NIS pension which is triggered at age 60 and after the magic figure of at least 750 contributions had been attained. The monthly pension is the NIS’s largest liability and in the circumstances of financial difficulties at the Scheme it appeared to observers that there was no enthusiasm for the number of eligible pensioners to be greatly expanded.
Many persons have complained that even though they had been assured by their employers that at least 750 contributions had been paid over to the NIS during their employment they encounter one of two difficulties when they approach the Scheme on turning 60. The first of these is that they are told that their contributions had not been paid over by the employer. The NIS regulations have however settled this and the courts have also pronounced on this matter to the effect that the insured person’s contribution is preserved.
Regulation 6 of the National Insurance and Social Security (Contributions) Regulations states: “Where a contribution payable by an employer in respect or on behalf of an insured person is paid after the due date or is not paid, and the delay or failure in making payment thereof is shown to the satisfaction of the Board not to have been with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person, the contribution shall, for the purpose of any right to benefit (emphasis added), be treated as paid on the due date.”
The other problem that crops up is that the NIS’s records are defective and do not contain evidence of the contributions. The Scheme itself has recognised deficiencies in its own record-keeping and has had to reconstruct data over the years. The insured person should not be penalised as a result of this.
Even when the records are intact, those applying for pensions relate stories of endless running around and delays in concluding the process for the award of pensions. No insured person should have to endure this given the importance of the insurance scheme to the income of retirees. As we have stated before in these columns the NIS should proactively ensure that contributors to the Scheme are aware of their status in relation to eligibility for the pension and that given the frequency in which jobs are changed that care is taken to ensure that contributions continue.
The Scheme should do more to make certain that each contributor is constantly made aware of their status and upon attainment of the 750 contributions mark they should be presented with a certificate validating that they have qualified for a pension, which certificate can be used to enable efficient processing of their pension on turning 60.
This is one area that Minister Singh should concentrate his efforts on in ensuring that as many people as possible who are entitled to a monthly pension receive this and are not forced to ill-advisedly accept a lump sum.
The financial sustainability of the Scheme has come under stress in recent years from low returns and poor investment decisions which had been forced on it – the case of CLICO being the nadir. It behoves Minister Singh to also address these matters so that the Scheme will be able to discharge its obligations to all Guyanese.
