NIS pensioners allegedly owed arrears since 2021

(Kaieteur News) – Minimum-rate NIS pensioners may be entitled to years of unpaid pension arrears, with several trade unions and attorney-at-law Christopher Ram giving the National Insurance Board seven days to explain why payments have allegedly fallen below the statutory minimum.

In a letter dated October 1, 2026 and addressed to the Secretary of the National Insurance Board, Ram and representatives of several trade union bodies contend that the NIS has failed to comply with a statutory requirement governing the minimum old-age pension.

The letter points to Regulation 4(b) of the Benefit Regulations, which was amended in 2015 to increase the statutory minimum old-age pension from 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the Public Service minimum wage. According to the signatories, the requirement was last met in 2020, when the Public Service minimum wage was $70,000 and the NIS minimum pension was $35,000.