More than 20,000 National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pensioners are now receiving their monthly pensions directly into their bank accounts, almost doubling the number using the payment option since 2020.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, disclosed the figures on Wednesday during an event marking the NIS’ 57th anniversary.
According to Singh, just over 11,000 pensioners were receiving their NIS pensions through direct bank payments in 2020. That figure has since climbed to more than 20,000.
However, more than 40,000 pensioners have not yet switched to direct bank deposits, and Singh encouraged them to consider the option to avoid the cost and inconvenience associated with collecting pension books and cashing pension vouchers.
“You could be saving yourself the financial cost and the inconvenience associated with physically going to collect a pension book and associated with physically going to encash a pension voucher,” Singh said.
The increased use of direct deposits comes as the Government moves to digitise the NIS more broadly, with Singh announcing that all of the Scheme’s major processes are expected to transition to digital platforms.
The Finance Minister said the changes are intended to allow contributors and pensioners to conduct more of their business with the NIS without visiting an office.
Under the proposed system, pensioners with bank accounts would be able to submit their Life Certificates electronically, including through WhatsApp, and continue receiving their pensions directly into their accounts.
For contributors, the planned changes are expected to extend beyond pension payments.
Singh said persons should eventually be able to register with the NIS online, while employers and self-employed contributors would be able to submit monthly returns and make contribution payments digitally.
Contributors are also expected to be able to access their contribution records from home, submit benefit claims electronically and monitor the progress of those claims online.
The Finance Minister said the shift forms part of a wider effort to increase access to financial services and reduce dependence on physical transactions.
He noted that most government salaries are already deposited directly into employees’ bank accounts and said greater use of digital payments could eliminate the need for people to repeatedly join lines to receive and deposit cheques or withdraw funds.
Singh also urged workers currently contributing to the NIS to regularly check their contribution records rather than waiting until they reach retirement age to determine whether their payments are up to date.
He advised employees to request contribution statements and ensure deductions made from their salaries are actually being remitted to the Scheme by their employers.
The Minister also called on the NIS to provide employers with annual statements showing the workers for whom contributions were received.
