00:00When pension sustainability is at risk, responsible leadership does not postpone.
00:06When the future of workers and pensioners is on the line, responsible leadership does not play politics.
00:14Mr. Speaker, ignoring the actuarial advice and evidence would have been easier politically, but it would have been reckless economically.
00:23Finance Minister Devendra Tanku delivering a statement in the House of Representatives about the National Insurance Fund.
00:29In confronting the structural imbalance within the national insurance system, this government has not shied away from making the difficult
00:37but necessary decisions to secure the future of the National Insurance Fund.
00:42Firstly, we have moved decisively to adjust the pensionable age upwards, gradually increasing it from 60 to 65.
00:50This phased approach, starting on January 1st, 2028, aligns the age that would beneficiaries qualify for full NIS retirement benefits
01:00with broader demographic and fiscal realities.
01:04House Speaker, Jack, they were saying aloud a question from Opposition MP Colm Inbert, who served as Finance Minister during
01:11the former PNM administration.
01:13Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister of Finance and the UNC government happy?
01:20And do they believe that by increasing the insurance contribution rates for little people by 45 percent is a win
01:29for poor people?
01:36Mr. Speaker, I find it hypocritical that the member opposite, who sat on his hands and did nothing to protect
01:54the interests of the population of Trinidad and Tobago,
01:57who was willing to allow the fund to deplete to zero.
02:01Finance Minister Tancu did not stop there.
02:03It is hypocritical for him now to come to pretend that he suddenly cares for poor people.
02:10We must never forget in this Honorable House that this is the very minister who sat gleeingly rubbing his hands,
02:19laughing, as he raised the price of gas repeatedly, laughing.
02:23Finance Minister Tancu said the National Insurance Fund is the bedrock of financial security for more than 600,000 workers,
02:31pensioners and vulnerable families.
02:34Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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