In keeping with its manifesto promise, the PPP/C government will increase the old age pension to $41,000 in 2025.
This represents an increase of $5,000 above the $36,000 currently paid to pensioners aged 65 and over.
To address concerns about the duplication of pension books, which has recently come to light, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, announced on Thursday that discussions had been held with Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, regarding the introduction of additional security features to the pension books.
“We said to him (Dr Singh) that the new books would need to be printed using a different method. There would have to be additional security features that would be difficult to duplicate,” Dr Jagdeo explained at his weekly press conference.
Recent reports on Facebook have raised concerns about an alleged $150 million pension book theft at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. It is believed that pension books are being duplicated, a practice that Dr Jagdeo suggested may be carried out by gangs or individuals.
“This is a large sum of money, and my concern at that time was that if someone draws the money from another person’s book, the pensioner may not receive their funds,” Dr Jagdeo said.
According to Dr Jagdeo, this is “an old matter” that has been brought to the attention of the Guyana Police Force for investigation.
“The police were asked to look into this matter. This is not a new issue. I expect that they will take appropriate action against anyone involved in this, charge them, put them before the court, and ensure that the full weight of the law is applied,” Dr Jagdeo added.
Dr Jagdeo also expressed hope that the printing of the updated pension books would not delay the process.
In a recent post on their Facebook page, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security announced that the 2025 pension books would be distributed later this year, although the exact date will be confirmed at a later time.
