Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicosIslands, December 11, 2023 – Premier Washington Misick says the government is organizing a new monthly payment for residents over 70 who need government assistance.
“My government has commissioned an actuarial review of vulnerable Turks and Caicos Islanders aged 70 and over with the aim of purchasing an annuity to provide a guaranteed cost of living assistance of $1,000 monthly,” he said
The program will be run by the National Insurance Board (NIB) and start in 2024. He was speaking during the December 04 press conference announcing the new pay raises for the public sector.
The announcement comes weeks after the premier revealed that a worrying number of elderly people in the country, especially those who had been self-employed, did not have sufficient retirement funds to fall back on.
“I see too many self-employed persons at the age of retirement, and going home with nothing because they haven’t contributed– It’s no longer an NIB issue. It’s a government issue — as the government I have to find a way to support these people in their old age because we can’t just leave them to die,” he said during an October 06 interview on RTC FM.
At the time Misick had stressed that he could not guarantee the payment but that the government was working on it. The subsequent confirmation on December 4th came alongside announcements of a 10 percent minimum pay increase for working public servants
