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Aug. 2011
Must have 500 (10 yrs) paid contributions to qualify for
full & early Retirement
Benefit. (paid monthly)
You can take early retirement at age 60.
80% vested increasing 4% per annum until fully
vested at age 65.
If you do not have the 500 weekly paid contributions needed to qualify for early retirement
at age 60 you may at the age of 65, apply for the one-time payment of a retirement grant, should you meet the qualifying conditions
at the time. (currently 150 contributions min.) The grant will be paid at a rate of 6
times the average weekly insurable wage for each set of 50 contributions paid. To qualify for the grant one must also
be retired from gainful employment.
Example: You got paid $100 a week and
made 245 contributions (4 sets of 50)
6
x 100 x 4 = B$2400
From NIB website...
What is the minimum
age for claiming Retirement Benefit?
The minimum age for claiming Retirement Benefit is 60 years; this will
be paid at a reduced rate of 75 percent of the full entitlement, increasing to 80 percent as of January, 1999. Full Retirement
Benefit is paid only from age 65 years.
Can non-Bahamians claim Retirement Benefit?
Yes. A non-Bahamian can claim Retirement Benefit as
long as he/she meets the minimum qualifying condition of 150 paid contributions.
What is the Rate of Payment for Retirement Benefit ?
Retirement Benefit is paid as a percentage
of an individual's average weekly insurable wage. Each person's benefit is unique; and the amount paid as Retirement
Benefit depends largely on the following:
1. Whether the specific claimant is opting for early retirement (from
age 60 years), or is claiming full Retirement Benefit at age 65 years or older;
2. Whether the claimant was a Government
worker (Pensionable Civil Servant), or had worked in the private sector;
3. The claimant's total number of paid and/or
credited contributions - including 'Special Age Credits'; and
4. The actual salary/wages on which the contributions
were paid.
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From Patricia Hughes (Nina)
Dec. 2010
Hi Neil,
I was going to send you Ms Strachan's details
to put on the site to give those trying to apply for the pension a little insight into who the Assistant Manager is at NIB
and who is very helpful and returns e-mails sent to her that day, and, will also give you the contacts at Central Bank.
I was unsure whether documents l registered to her were acceptable so l scanned them to her, and
thankfully, she informed me by e, they were.
There were as you know, so many questions about the documents
required as the vagueness on the site for those like myself trying to get info at this late date can cost us the award, but
l see you posted it from some-one already.
So, all is better now!
Nina.
ps, if anyone needs the Central
Bank contact let me know as they send you out a packet of doc's to be filled in and you can jump ahead with this by e-mailing
the woman.
------------------------------------------------
Hi Neil, this is a quickie, i'll send on all Ms.
Strachan's mail to me...and, if you can decipher Ms. Marguerite Cooper from the Central Bank's e-mail, she needs everyone's
address in order to send a packet to them,(bank account application) and in the interim she is requesting we have a copy of
our passport, the equivalent to a social security number in our country of residence and our address notarized.
A
man who lives in the UK and has a son living in his home in Nassau may be able to help with picking up the first check, he
drink in my son's pub in Herefordshire!! and this man applied and got his Bahamian pension and he is honest as is his
son...Keith will ask him if he can help....
I'll e=soon,
Nina.
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We acknowledge with thanks your application for retirement benefit received today, November 15th, 2010. Please be
advised that in order for your claim to be processed the following is required:
1.
If you are an employed person and have ceased employment, a letter from your last employer stating your date of retirement.
If you are continuing in employment, a letter from your employer stating your wages. If you live outside of The Bahamas, this
document must be certified/notarized.
2. If you are a self-employed person
continuing in employment, you must declare your income. Again, if you live outside of The Bahamas, this document must be certified/notarized.
Once the claim is processed your monthly cheques will be deposited into the bank account of your choosing - in The
Bahamas. If you do not have an account in The Bahamas, you will have to get one. If you live outside of The Bahamas, you may
apply to any one of the commercial banks in The Bahamas to open a foreign currency account for the express purpose of depositing
your benefit cheques. The Central Bank of the Bahamas has delegated authority to these banks to facilitate this. (The Bank
of The Bahamas has been very helpful in facilitating accounts for (foreign) pensioners; contact beverley.farquharson@bankbahamas.com for more information). Once you have opened the requisite account, you must pass on to us the information regarding the name
of the bank, the branch (where it is), and your account number.
Should you require further assistance, please do
not hesitate to contact me at (242) 502-1624 or e-mail: crstrachan@nib-bahamas.com<mailto:crstrachan@nib-bahamas.com>.
Carolyn Strachan
Assistant Manager
Customer Service Department
Telephone: (242) 502-1624
Telefax: (242) 326-7045
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Dear Ms. Hughes
The
letter we require is a notarized/certified letter signed by you indicating that you are not employed or self-employed presently.
Not the letter from the last employer of 2005.
Please note that the application would not be
forwarded for processing until such time as we receive the notarized letter. Once you obtain the letter you may wish
to federal express it to us for expediency.
Regards,
Carolyn Strachan
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Dear Ms. Strachan,
I went to see a solicitor regarding the documents l am going to send to you being certified/notarized.
I was told that l must establish which one is acceptable, (although you state either or) but here in Ireland there is a big
difference in a certified copy and a notarized copy.
There will be two letters being sent to
you, and, as it was put to me, will you accept a certification from the solicitor, that when l put these documents in front
of him along with my passport and proof of residence, he can certify these are true copies and that l am who l am.
Or,
a notarized letter including the seal, which l am told, is exactly the same as the aforementioned, but internationally
recognized by a government body such as NIB.
I thank you in anticipation of your clarification
on this matter, and time being of the essence, wish to send the appropriate paperwork.
Sincerely,
Patricia Hughes.
While both the certified and notarized documents are acceptable, the notarized
letter would be preferable.
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Hello Ms. Strachan,
Many
thanks for your e-mail, and the acceptance of the documents that were sent registered mail last Friday.
I received
an e-mail from the lady at the Central Bank who said she was sending me a packet with the relevant documents that need to
be furnished in order for myself to open an account with them.
As soon as l receive details of the account l will
send them on to you.
May l take this opportunity to thank-you for all the assistance and advice you have given
to me, and your patience in answering the many questions l posed to you.
On a weather day such as it is again here
today, blizzard arctic conditions, l thought about Nassau as l so often do, and miss it sorely.
Kind regards,
Patricia
Hughes.
ps, when do the offices close for Christmas?
---------------------------------------------
Good day Ms. Hughes,
You are quite welcome as it is always our pleasure to provide assistance to our customers.
I don't envy you with the blizzard conditions and do say that I enjoy our sunny weather.
Our office is expected to be closed at half day on December 24th and reopen on December 28th.
Let me take this opportunity
to wish you happy holidays.
Regards,
Carolyn Strachan
This from David Kaneen Nov 19th 2010
The Bahamas government is changing the law on 1st January 2011. Anyone who is over the age of sixty
and does not claim their pension (having worked in the Bahamas for more than three years but less than ten years) loses
all entitlements after 1st January 2011 and gets NOTHING. There is no "lump sum" and anyone under the age of sixty
loses everything. If a person has worked more than ten years in the Bahamas, they can still claim their pension in the future
after the age of sixty. So many guys have
been coming over here from the States and the UK to claim their pension They need a whole bunch of documents and if
any of these are missing they will not get the pension. The documents needed are: National Insurance Board number, birth certificate,
passport, driver's licence, current utility bill, notarized letter saying they are retired and a letter from their bank
stating the length of time they have been a customer. There are no ifs, ands or buts and if they do not have any of these
documents they will not get the pension or be able to open a bank account in the Bahamas. The person to contact at the National
Insurance Board for information is CAROLYN STRACHAN and her e-mail is crstrachan@nib-bahamas.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------- As of Oct 2010 Increase
the number of contributions required to qualify for Retirement Benefit.
The current 150‐week
requirement is extremely generous. Currently, anyone who worked and paid contributions in The Bahamas for a mere 3 years would
be assured an NIB pension for life. Our research shows that the norm regionally and internationally is 500 contributions,
or about 10 years. And so the new requirement starting January 2011 will be 500 contributions. For persons who reach retirement
but have failed to make the required 500 contributions, a one‐time, lump sum grant will be paid to provide some minimal
return in lieu of a pension.
Read the complete article.
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NIB Bahamas
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