00:00Finance Minister Dave Tankou announced in the 2025-2026 national budget that the age for receiving a full national insurance system pension will gradually increase from 60 to 65 years.
00:13He said the move is aimed at securing the long-term sustainability of the NIS, which has faced growing financial pressure due to years of neglect.
00:21However, the Prison Officers Association of Trinidad and Tobago has condemned the move, describing it as unfair, unjust, and harmful to those who dedicate their lives to the nation.
00:32According to Association President Gerard Gordon, the change will severely affect prison officers who retire at age 55.
00:40Our position is born out of the fact that the mortality rate for prison officers is horrific.
00:48Sadly, our number of officers, the majority of officers, we have been seeing and not even seeing their 60th birthday.
00:58So the mortality rate is somewhere around 58, 59 years old.
01:03And so after waiting now five years, some people may never get or receive their pension, their NIS pension, after contributing, in a lot of cases, sometimes two, two and a half times the minimum requirement of 750 contributions.
01:23Gordon said the new measure makes it nearly impossible for retired service workers to enjoy their retirement years.
01:29He added that many officers, once their health allows, are forced to take on other jobs before they can access their NIS pension.
01:38So you see them being security guards and that sort of thing.
01:41And I am saying that after serving as a prison officer for 30 years, to have a man go and stand up in a drugstore or buy a casino or a supermarket,
01:52I think that that is ridiculous and we need to think about what we are doing and what we are asking people to do.
02:02President of the Fire Officers Association, Kiongai, echoed similar sentiments, saying the policy must be reviewed to reflect the physical and mental toll of frontline service personnel.
02:13If we don't ensure that adjustments are made, as well as provisions are made for protective service officers, it will mean that they can wait after their age of retirement.
02:24Our jobs are extremely strenuous.
02:27It deteriorates our bodies over time.
02:29And that time, between the ages of 55 to 65, is where we begin to have a number of medical complications.
02:35Both associations said the proposed policy is based on broad generalization that fail to consider the occupational hazard faced daily by frontline workers, including those in the prison, police and fire services.
02:50Instead, they are proposing solutions aimed at ensuring fairness.
02:54We talk about having a tiered pension system, which says that we differentiate pension ages based on occupational risk and life expectancy.
03:07We also want early pension access for high-risk occupation.
03:15So allow us our full NIS access at age 55 for those frontline protective services workers.
03:23We also are speaking to improve contribution compliance.
03:28We need to strengthen employer compliance and modernize collection systems to secure NIB's revenue base.
03:36We also are seeking to have a reform of the NIB investment practices to ensure greater transparency, diversification and independence from political influence.
03:46We also hope that they will look at the creation of a supplemental security services fund.
03:52The associations have said they have already reached out to the relevant authorities and are hopeful that meaningful discussion will follow.
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