Dookeran presents bill to increase NIS pensions to $3,000/month

Finance Minister Winston Dookeran on Wednesday presented a bill to Parliament to increase the National Insurance Pension from $2,000 a month to $3,000 a month, effective February 1.

He announced the increase in the budget presented last October. However pensioners are still receiving the old amount of $2,000 a month.

Dookeran said the increase in the pension was done to bring equity to the pension system. And he said while other countries are cutting back on pensions, the Trinidad & Tobago Government is doing the opposite.

The minister noted the National Insurance System (NIS) depends on the investment of income from contributions paid by employers. This income, he said, keeps the system financially sound and provides relevant benefits, while keeping contributions from individuals low.

However he said there are about 2,000 employers who have not paid their NIS contributions over the past four years.

Dookeran said the government decided to waive penalties to give those employers an opportunity to make the outstanding payments on contributions due prior to October 10, 2011. 

Dookeran also announced that the government will move to make it the law to pay a $1,000 a month tax free allowance to police and extend it to other protective services personnel.

“We have worked out the arithmetic, we have put the legislative machinery in place and we are now prepared to provide some additional support to the protective services of Trinidad and Tobago,” the minister said.

The bill was passed late Wednesday.