St. Kitts and Nevis government will host a special event on Thursday, July 25, 2024 to mark the commencement of the payment of pensions to deserving retired Government Auxiliary Employees (GAEs) by bringing significant and immediate financial relief to hundreds of persons.
As a part of assigned duties, the Pension Reform Task Force prioritised the pension payments to GAEs, who got retired after May 2012. The pension signifies the commitment of the Dr. Terrance Drew-led government to rectify the injustice of the former Team Unity Administration which discontinued the end-of-tenure gratuity that rewarded the classification of workers for their years of service.
Reportedly, to be qualified for the pension payments, Government Auxiliary Employees who must be at least of age 62 and have contributed a minimum of fifteen years in service.
Considering this, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis – Dr. Terrance Drew said that instead of helping the GAE workers they made it harder for them. He mentioned that these are the persons who are the crossing guards, the environmental workers, your messengers, drivers, technicians and so forth. They did not have a guarantee of a pension.
PM Drew further explained that prior to the year 2021 GAEs used to get a gratuity which was calculated using a favourable formula to them. The then administration used a different formula and cut their gratuity by two thirds. Such as, if they were to get $100, they cut it down to $33.33, a third of what they used to get before 2021.
The prime minister further noted that he feels a sense of pride in knowing that his government is able to facilitate the compassionate act of ensuring GAEs that they receive exactly what they worked for over the years.
He stated that, on July 25, the qualified GAE workers will receive their pensions. They have triggered the law and so their pension payments will begin.
Drew added further to his statement and said that they will back pay them to January 2024, because the commitment was made for 2024 and so hundreds are going to benefit now and of course a few thousands over time.
Notably, the pension payments will commence with a selected number of GAEs at the event on Thursday in front of Government Headquarters, with other payments that were made after.
The pension query forms will then be available at the Government Headquarters and the Accountant General Department at the Treasury Department to address any concerns.