Public Sector Pension Plan at $14.71 Million in Year One

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, May 19, 2023 – The first ever payouts have already been made from the new Public Sector Employees Pension Plan totaling over $162 thousand; it means civil servants are finally reaping post retirement benefits after years of agitating for a more comprehensive package.

The news was shared by E Jay Saunders, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister during the 2023//24 budget debates on Tuesday May 16th.

The fund was introduced in March of 2022 to begin in the 2022/23 financial year and saw a 10 percent pay increase for civil servants split 60/40, with the 60 being placed into the new retirement fund.

Saunders laid down the numbers first for residents; On the establishment of the fund in 2022 the Government seeded $7.9 million.  As the employer, the Government then contributed – over the past year – another $4.5 million; the employees contributed $2.4 million and the employees pension on wages was $2.24 million in cumulative contributions by staff.

“But would you believe this pension fund that we just started a year ago has already paid out pension benefits in the [amount] of $162 thousand?” He asked.  That cash was disseminated between 21 public sector retirees in year one.  Saunders described it as another way the Government was delivering on the Citizens’ Contract.

The fund had been created to restart the Government mandated pension program which had been cut in 1992, with the introduction of the National Insurance scheme though payouts still remained for some.  When the Interim Administration arrived in 2012, those benefits were discontinued for many pensioners, reported Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles, Attorney General, when she laid the bill in 2022.

The Public Sector Employees Pension Plan is a complement to the retirement payouts from the National Insurance Board, NIB, which were deemed insufficient.

The pension fund is accessible to any individual who has left the public service be it due to resignation, dismissal, redundancy, disability, or retirement.