ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, November 15, The Grenada government Tuesday began making pension and gratuity payments to retirees ahead of the November 30 deadline.
“As of today, November 15, 2022, the first tranche of payments was made to over 300 retirees, in the amount of EC$44.1 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents),” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.
It said that the payment of these long overdue benefits symbolizes the “Government’s dedication to its transformation agenda that seeks to empower its people, make good on commitments to citizens and be transparent in its governance of the country.
“Importantly, the retroactive payments also demonstrate our ability, as a country, to satisfactorily address our challenges, as difficult as they may be, once we set clear goals and work towards achieving them,” the statement added.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dickon Mitchell, has praised the staff at the ministry “for their stellar work in ensuring that the deadline for payment of the pension and gratuity was met”
The statement said that the Pension Secretariat continues to work “assiduously to ensure that all eligible applicants are processed on or before November 30, 2022.
“To facilitate the timely payment of benefits, the Secretariat is urging all approved applicants, who have not yet done so, to please submit Life Certificates and banking information,” the statement said, noting that in total, the Ministry of Finance anticipates a pay-out of EC$75 million to 525 eligible retirees”.
On March 29, the Grenada High Court ruled that the Pension Disqualification Act, which was passed into law under the People’s Revolutionary Government, RPG, headed by then prime minister Maurice Bishop, and validated by the Validation Act of 1985, was unconstitutional.
The pension issue surfaced with the collapse of the PRG, which during its term in office, 1979 to 1983, had established Grenada’s National Insurance Scheme and replaced the pension scheme for public servants that had been enshrined in the constitution.
The High Court ruling in March restored the original pension scheme for public sector workers.
The last Government had established a committee to review the impact of a high court ruling, but the new Government had promised during the campaign for the June 23 general election that payment of the pension and gratuity would be among its priorities.
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