Pensioners must prove they are alive biannually under new system

A life certificate is an official document used to verify that a pensioner is still alive and, therefore, eligible to receive a pension from the Government of Jamaica.

“[This]is documentation that each beneficiary will have to produce twice for the year to support their life status,” Project Director for the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) in the Ministry, Elsa Marks Willis, told JIS News.

“That life certificate will have to be verified by one of the designated persons on the certificate, who can certify that you are alive, and you are still in need of the benefit. Once that is not received by the Ministry, we will have to suspend the payment until we can ascertain your life status,” she pointed out.

The $800-million Social Pension Programme, launched last July, targets all Jamaican citizens 75 years and older, who are not currently in receipt of a pension (overseas or local) or any other retirement, old-age or disability benefit or regular income, and not living in a government institutionalised care facility.

Currently, there are 7,800 persons registered under the programme, who are receiving $6,800 every two months, which is credited to their bank account or disbursed via the applicant’s remittance agency of choice (JN Money Services, Bill Express, or Paymaster).

The Ministry is looking to increase the number of beneficiaries to 20,000 this financial year.

Mrs. Marks Willis told JIS News that there are other measures in place to check on the life status of a beneficiary.

“The beneficiary has to either collect the payment or have a named agent to act on their behalf. If the payment is uncollected, then it is a red flag after two missed payments. So, if you haven’t collected two payments, then we suspend [it] and an investigation is launched to find out why it is that you haven’t collected the payment,” she explained.

“If it is just a case that you were sick, and you are unable to collect, then we do a social worker report and then we will reinstate you for the next payment,” Mrs. Marks Willis noted.

To register for the Social Pension Programme, persons may visit any of the Ministry’s parish offices islandwide. They will be required to complete a social pension application form, accompanied by their Tax Registration Number (TRN), National Insurance Scheme (NIS) card, and proof of age in the form of a birth certificate or a valid passport.

They should also take along a valid identification (ID) such as a driver’s licence, passport or voter’s ID, proof of bank account and any other document that may be required to process the application, for example, proof of citizenship.

For more information on the Programme, persons can call the Security Division of the Ministry at 876-922-8000-9 or visit the nearest parish office.