Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
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Pension mix-up resolved
Early Resolution | 01 May 2022
Public Service Pension Board (PSPB) , Department of Vehicle & Driver’s Licensing (DVDL)
A complainant who had worked for the Cayman Islands Government for a number of years discovered, upon his retirement at age 65, that a period of approximately two years of his working time had not been recorded as being pensionable. The Ombudsman’s office looked into the matter and discovered the issue had to do with a somewhat complicated set of circumstances surrounding changes to the Public Service Pensions Law in 2016, which raised the government’s normal pensionable age from 60 to 65.
The individual in this case reached age 60 just prior to the legislation change and, due to the requirements at the time, was removed from making contributions to the government pension plan, although he continued to work on contract with the government. However, when the legislation changed, allowing him to make pension payments again up until age 65, he was not placed back on the public service pension plan until about two years after the fact.
This led to a gap in his pension payments which had not been made up at the time of his retirement. It also had the unintended effect of making his monthly pension payments much less than they ordinarily would have been, had the additional two years been counted.
Our office contacted the complainant’s former employer and the PSPB and found that both sides believed the situation could be rectified but were unsure of how to proceed in doing so. We suggested a mediation between the parties to discuss solutions to the matter and that meeting did come up with a work-around with which both entities agreed. After the appropriate administrative arrangements were made, an additional payment was made to the PSPB and the retired worker was able to receive the full pension amounts he was due.
As there was no formal investigation into this matter, the Ombudsman did not make any recommendations.