GRAND CAYMAN (GIS) – Government is introducing new ex-gratia payments for public service pensioners to provide relief for persons who worked in government for at least a decade.
The new ex-gratia uplift payments, backdated to 1 January 2018, will bring the pensions of long-serving public servants in line with poor relief payments of $650 per month. Additionally, in January 2019 the payment threshold will increase to $750 per month.

Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin said “I’m very happy to see this increase coming into effect for Civil Service Pensioners who have served our country for many years but who are now retired in Cayman and receive less, in some cases far less, than what is provided for poor relief.”

Mr. McLaughlin continued: “This is a commitment my Government made in the early months of our tenure and the funding was approved in the 2018-2019 budget.”

These “uplift provisions” for eligible pensioners, were approved by Cabinet and came into effect in June 2018 through the new Public Service Pensions (Ex-Gratia Pensions) Uplift Payment Regulations 2018. The legislation was approved by Government to help build stronger communities by supporting our most vulnerable citizens.

These regulations apply to retired public servants who are Caymanian, aged 60 or older prior to the 1 June 2018 and who have a minimum of 10 years of pensionable service. After 1 June similar provisions apply except that the age requirement is increased to 65 in line with the new normal retirement age.
Eligible pensioners will receive an ex-gratia uplift payment based on the shortfall in pensions’ earnings (i.e. public service pension and public service ex-gratia pension) against the $650 ceiling.

To check eligibility for the ex-gratia uplift payment, pensioners can complete a quick and simple five-question survey on the Public Service Pensions Board (PSPB) website at www.pspb.ky. Identified eligible pensioners have already been provided with their new ex-gratia uplift payment and their retroactive payment. Any pensioner who did not receive the uplift and feels they meet the eligibility requirements should contact the PSPB, by telephone at (345) 945-8175 or by email to [email protected], no later than 31 August 2018.

“Work continues on fine tuning the exact number of pensioners that will be impacted and the cost to Government but we estimate that more than 300 public sector pensioners will qualify at the $650 threshold in 2018 and the $750 threshold in 2019,” said the Managing Director of the Public Service Pensions Board, Jewel Evans Lindsey (Mrs.).

The current ex-gratia pensions scheme pays out $1.4 million a year. The latest ex-gratia uplift initiative is estimated to increase that amount by an additional $ 0.7 million in 2018 and $1.1 million in 2019.

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