THE NATIONAL Social Security Authority has given all those who have not been claiming benefits in the last five years a temporary relief by suspending the maximum time limit for collections.
Chief Reporter
There is normally a maximum five-year period within which a person can claim a retirement, survivor’s or invalidity grant
However, in a notice to clients, NSSA said the five-year claim period had been suspended.
“However, it has come to NSSA’s attention that many contributors, or where the contributor or pensioners has passed away, their spouses or other dependent relative have failed to lodge a claim within this period because they were unaware they were eligible for a grant or they were unaware of the time limit,” NSSA said.
“The five-year claim period has therefore been suspended for this year, but only this year to allow those who failed to claim within five years of becoming eligible for grant to lodge their claim, or if they made a claim late and it was rejected for this reason, to resubmit their claim.”
A grant is paid in place of a pension, where a contributor to the National Pension Scheme has not contributed for long enough for a pension to be paid.
NSSA said it has begun making payments for late grant applications submitted or re-submitted since January 1.
In August last year, NSSA minimum pensions went up following government’s gazetting of increases in pension contribution rates.
The minimum retirement pension was increased from $40 to $60, with the minimum survivor’s pensions and invalidity pensions going up from $20 to $30.