McTaggart calls for 58% rise in payments to seniors
(CNS): Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has called on the Cayman Islands Government to use the surplus it expects to have at the end of this budget cycle to fund a 58% increase in the ex gratia benefits paid to seafarers, veterans, their spouses and retired civil servants on inadequate pensions. The PPM leader said society owes a debt to these people, who are being hit the hardest by inflation.
McTaggart said the current payment of CI$950 per month should increase to $1,500 to help them navigate the cost of living crisis. Although the rate of inflation is now slowing, it was a shockingly painful 12% in 2021 and prices are still going up.
“One of the hallmarks of a fair and inclusive society is how those in need are supported,” McTaggart said in a statement Monday. “We have also long recognised that sometimes the government needs to step in to help those who need extra help. Particularly, we have all acknowledged that there are some in our community to whom a particular debt is owed.”
The government has already budgeted more than CI$11.1 million for the seafarers’ and veterans’ stipend this year and a few million more to help the elderly in need.
It is forecasting an overall surplus of at least CI$8.6 million by the end of this year and is currently on track for considerably more. But just last week, Premier Wayne Panton voiced his concerns about the pace of public spending, which is rising far faster than government revenue streams.
He said that he had already taken heat from both sides of the political debate on public spending, especially on welfare. Panton told a Chamber of Commerce audience that he had been accused of “going too far” on welfare spending and putting the economy at risk, but also of not going far enough with social investment.
Although McTaggart has also raised the alarm about the need to rein in public expenditures, in his message he argued that because inflation hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest, government support should increase in the next budget.
He said that the last Progressives administration had recognised that “the actual value of the stipend paid to seafarers and veterans had been allowed to dwindle over the years, and we set out to restore its value. So, over the last parliamentary term, we raised the stipend by 90% from $500 to $950 per month.” But this had been “whittled away once again by the dramatic rise in the rate of inflation”, he noted.
McTaggart said that seafarers, veterans and civil service pensioners deserved a fair deal, as he urged the government to use its cash surplus to increase the monthly stipends to $1,500 per month.
A person being paid $8.66 per hour and working a 40-hour week takes home about CI$1,500 per month (based on an average of 4.33 weeks in a month). It could therefore prove difficult for the CIG to justify paying this to retirees when so many low-paid, full-time employees are earning less.
In addition, the minimum wage is currently under scrutiny, and if the government agreed to the stipend increase, it would effectively be an admission that anything below this is not enough for people to live on.
Nevertheless, McTaggart said that as the government is boasting about record levels of government income, “it is surely time to utilise that income to make sure that, as a society, we are looking out for those most in need”.
As the government goes through internal discussions about its budget priorities, increasing payment to the elderly in need must be a priority, he said, adding that the resources necessary for this should be secured in the next and final budget for this administration.
See McTaggart’s statement below:
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Category: Government Finance, Politics
Rasssss, Roy still yah??!!
Still have a $6 minimum wage. Still “studying”. That is less than $1,000 a month.
For context, do you know what a simple bus ride to get a Subway sandwich costs?
A business should not be in business if it can only survive by paying people $6 an hour.
Stop crying and open your own business slacker.
I want everyone to be a millionaire and not just the rich people.
Any Christian downvoting this cannot deny that Jesus was a socialist, yet they hate socialism.
Seems inconsistent, but nevertheless
R’amen, my brother in colander. R’amen.
Any surplus should go toward paying down the country’s debt. Please don’t caught up in a cycle of constantly increasing spending on social/welfare programs. Many of these persons receiving payments have family members can help support them. The Government can’t be everyone’s saviour.
The low end Government pensioners are getting “stiffed” big time! This needs to be looked into, The raise they get are only taken off the stipend they receive to match the seamen grant and financial assistance provided to some, therefore most of these low end pensioners take home no increase in their pensions! This is totally unfair and also misleading!
I agree to an increase but they need to assess who truly needs it and who has worked for it!
It doesn’t have to be $1500, but even an increase to $1200 would be sufficient in most cases.
I know what I’m saying because because I’m a low end pensioner who worked for the CI Government for nearly 20 years until I had to be retired for medical reasons.
Just over $200/month for a 15 year employed civil servant pension is not just laughable, it is INSANITY! That doesn’t cover much more than phone and internet, and those are the SMALLER expenses monthly!
How is it that we still seem to have so many persons that fall into this seafarers and veterans category?
It’s called history, son.
The handful of Cayman veterans would be well into their 90s by now
Very good question.
11:21 am. many so call seamen that getting the benefits never went to sea and lots only went for a few weeks. make them show proof with ship discharges or with 6 seamen signatures including JP swearing that they know that the man went to sea for a minimum of 3 years or more.
So, you allow a couple of big pension draw downs to ease the pain of, likely, poor financial planning decisions.
And then Government is happy to hand out $$ down the line…sounds like a good deal!
…seafarers, veterans, their spouses and retired civil servants on inadequate pensions.
These are the only retired seniors in the Cayman Islands??
One of the hallmarks of a fair and inclusive society is how those in need are supported..??
It could therefore prove difficult for the CIG to justify paying this to retirees when so many low-paid, full-time employees are earning less. Isn’t that what he is proposing??
Why not do means testing and a minimum income set for retirees over say 67? – and don’t differentiate between who was a seaman and who wasn’t. Any native Caymanian who lived and/or worked in Cayman from the 60s to the present day would be part of the nation-builders too. Stop going on about old seafarers already!
9.13 How disrespectful to the seafarers whose service kept these islands afloat before finance or tourism came along.
Why disrespectful? Ignoring those that stayed, or worked in other fields sending money home, is disrespectful to them!
Take your means testing and shove it!
So you think all these categories of pensioner should be given free money regardless of need? Means testing is the only sensible way, alongside a minimum income which I am sure uncle Roy could come up with…
The cost of means testing will likely be greater than just paying all seniors.
It shouldn’t be. Means testing can be set up as a form completed by the claimant listing their true assets, liabilities and income sources, signed by the claimant and (and here’s the catch) subject to severe penalties if statements are found to be misleading, seriously inaccurate or downright lies. Surely that’s what the current social services do isn’t it?
Trouble is, probably everyone would still lie, knowing there would be no enforcement! So you’re probably right, keep on throwing money at the problem, Cayman can’t fix sh[t any other way I guess.
I smell yet another new CIG agency percolating.
9:13 am. The seamen was the ones sending home the money to support those that stayed home with jobs .Remember there was no Banks and tourism those days.
Is it election time already?
Smartest PPM Politician? Mo$e$. He stays on Brac, collects paycheque and doesn’t make any public comments.
Everyone is just talk no one really do anything about what they be saying just talk 👎that’s all it is I will believe it when I see it
If, at the time of retirement I have a relatively modest $500k in my pension account, the Cayman Islands government is expecting me to live a further 41.67 years.
when are you retiring 40? come on the problem is pension withdrawals. No one is expected to live 40 years after retiring at 65 years old. You then stick it to everyone, expecting them to pay for your poor financial choices. stop getting cars you can afford and have to get a loan paying 650 kyd per month. stop trying to keep up with the Jones.
Woooosh
Yeah he totally missed the point of that comment. It’s definitely an issue. I know someone who retired recently with over $300,000 in his account. He will likely be long dead before even putting a dent in it as he is 60 – yet he had to leave Cayman to retire because the monthly payout is crap and the cost of living is only going to get worse, particularly as he still has kids in school.
Exactly right. During Covid CIG blessed me with the ability to withdraw most of my crappy pension and invest it in the Credit Union. THANK YOU !!! My pension has lost nearly 11,000. Sure, they will tell you that it recovers over time. Bullshit.
Now, at least, my retirement is earning interest, and is the most secure fund in the Cayman Islands.
I believe the original poster is referring to the 12k per year you can draw from your pension once you retire. A 500k pension at 12k per year would take about 40 years to spend. However, I think you can draw more than that for a fund that size.
These Politicians don’t realize that even if you have a surplus you need to save for a rainy day. When we really need this money it will all be gone..
Roy, stop playing politics with our money for votes. You were the one person I expected better from but seems like your many years at KPMG taught you nothing..You sure caught on fast with PPM modus operandi though..
Remember when that snake all but promised he wasn’t interested in joining PPM? The internet certainly does: https://caymannewsservice.com/2015/03/c4c-mlas-deny-plans-to-join-ppm/
Once upon a time he had people fooled into thinking he was for them. Time has shown that he is a fraud, and only looking out for his one true kin: the wealthy. Don’t let his politricks fool you again, please.
Too true, Mr. Anonymous! It became obvious after he got acce$$ to the moolah.
Remember why Wayne claims he left? The internet does.
Isn’t he the only one to demonstrate. Integrity and hold people accountable?
@1:51Pm I hope you mean Wayne and not Roy because you shouldn’t use the words integrity and accountable in the same sentence with Roy.
Scraping bottom for votes eh Roy?
And what about me and my wife. I drove boats here for tourists the last 20 yrs before retirement. I earned minimum wage plus a few tips. We got by. Now I am retired, my entire pension account was paid out and gone and less than 3 years. Now we have no income and live off savings…and with a low paid job we don’t have much saved. At least we have paid off the mortgage, but we couldn’t afford to pay the house insurance this year so that has lapsed. And we are one medical event away from disaster.
Do I count as a ‘seafarer’ if I drove a boat but never left Cayman?
I never worked for the civil service so don’t have a pension from the government.
Where is my pension going to come from? I worked hard all my life, I never asked for anything. Now I have to beg at NAU to feed us?
There needs to be a better way.
Too bad you didn’t plan ahead and instead drank rum, played dominoes and didn’t improve your skills etc.
What a stupid, stupid comment by you, bravely behind your keyboard.
Hyper capitalism and right wing propaganda have poisoned so many minds.
It’s a fraudulent made up scenario genius.
if you burned through your pension savings in three years despite working hard “all your life” then I think you need to check some numbers.
Its easy to do. If you have a low paid job, the 5% of those low wages paid into a pension don’t amount to much. Take off the high fees and the terrible performance and its totally feasible there is only about $30k-$40k dollars in there. At $12k a year withdrawal, the entire pension savings will be gone in three years.
Hypothetical if.
Hush child.
For a start it’s 10%, not 5%, once you combine the employee and employer’s contribution. Even at zero growth over 40 years (and there hasn’t been zero growth in the pension funds) there would be a minimum of $50,000 in the pot. In reality it would be much higher than this due to compounding growth over such a timeframe.
Even so, that doesn’t escape from the fact that such a pot will still be nowhere near sufficient to retire on in the Cayman Islands, and maybe not sufficient to retire anywhere. Unless the individual has some other form of savings (the OP appears to be loving off this now), some form of other passive income or continues working.
That’s true for massive swathes of the world and is not unique to Cayman. It’s felt much more here though, given the cost of living.
No government anywhere owes you a retirement fund.
PPM vote buying antics then they will turn around blame pact for wasting money on vote buying. Brilliant stuff by a desperate ppm opposition that no one trusts given their track record over the years.
Campaign season has begun in 2023 for April 2025.
Go back to bed Mr. Meghoo your lot are a bunch of charlatans
The hypocrisy of the PPM has no limits. They have proven they cannot be trusted.
They were in power for 8 years with a majority led government from 2013-2021. Two terms with Sir Alden as the Premier yet they chose to do nothing but increase their own salaries. Roy go sit down they are using you. You are embarrassing yourself by being Alden’s puppet every time you speak. Have you no shame?
so do-nothing-ppm did not nothing????….amazing!
PPM working hard on remaining relevant once again.
Do they really think anyone including seniors will ever trust them again..It’s going to take more than lunch at alden’s house to convince me to vote for either one of them again..
Welcome to the Nanny State!
A 58% increase on a current budget of $11 million is $6 million. Or, we could spend $42 million on a shiny jet terminal for Dart and his buddies, and give $3 million to a carefully curated list of tourism projects (strangely enough, both projects being curated by Kenny). And Jay hasn’t even told us what his NEST project is going to cost. Whilst I am rather suspicious at how many seafarers and veterans we appear to have decades after Caymanian men going to sea was common and over 70 years after WW2 ended, I would rather see them get the cash than spend it on PACT ministers re election campaign. But now Roy has raised it as his idea, there is zero prospect of it getting through.
Thats nice and all…. But how about an increase for the rest of us that are still paying into that pension fund and are probably one big event away from being destitute?
Roy pandering for the senior vote and Kenneth pandering for the church vote..Elections must be coming soon.):
I wish these politicians could understand that these tactics no longer work and can be seen a mile away..
Please don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to help people but doing it for the sympathy vote or to pander to them to get their vote is just disingenuous.
Thing is, 90% of the time they say these things and do nothing about it.
Old man shouts at clouds.
Thank you. This is so needed.
How much longer will these seafarers keep milking it?
How many real seafarers are left? Or war veterans for that matter.
11:21 am. many so call seamen that getting the benefits never went to sea and lots only went for a few weeks. make them show proof with ship discharges or with 6 seamen signatures including JP swearing that they know that the man went to sea for a minimum of 3 years or more.
Until they die out, but we should take care of them until that time.
@11:40am not just them, it’s the young Spanish and Jamaican wives living off them even after they are dead and gone..first wives get nothing…
And??
What of the wives in all other ports?!
I don’t want my ex wife to get anything outside of what we agreed in court so that argument is silly. If I marry a young Spanita and leave her my pension, that is my business!
@12:36pm That’s fine just leave her enough pension to live off so that we the people don’t have to support her for the rest of her very long life once you are dead in a couple of years..
honestly, how many of them are still around????
7
Now this is more helpful to our people than building the private air terminal for the rich people. But as for any surplus, by the time all the vote seekers are done, we will probably be in a deficit!
so what happens when cayman stops running a surplus?????
we just raise more taxes!
another step towards cayman becoming a total social welfare state.
when will a politicians actually address the problem instead of just trying to solve the issue by writing checks????
The problem is beyond this island and its leaders.
no payments without means testing first. end of story.
Conservatism is evil and cruel and selfish. Means testing is yet another tired trope to keep the poor in place and secure status for the right wing villains.
Why didn’t he do it when he had power to do so for so long?
Vote buying season.