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Business Reporter
NATIONAL pension scheme contributors or their dependants who failed to claim a retirement, invalidity or survivor’s grant within the statutory limit of five years from the time of becoming eligible have been given the opportunity to claim the grant next year. National Social Security Authority general manager Mr James Matiza said the authority had decided to provide those who failed to lodge claims within the statutory period the opportunity as many people seem to have been unaware of this limitation.

Public Service, Labour and Social Services Minister Nicholas Goche has, by means of Statutory Instrument 144 of 2013, published on October 4, suspended for the whole of next year the statutory time limit for claiming pension grants. Contributors to the scheme or their surviving dependants, whose claims were rejected on the grounds that they had submitted them late, can next year resubmit their claim.
Likewise, those who did not submit a claim because they realised the five-year limit for claims had passed can also resubmit their claims.

The claim must, however, be lodged or resubmitted within the period for which the statutory time limit has been suspended, which begins on January 1, 2014 and ends on December 31, 2014.

After that, a claim that is submitted five years or more after a contributor’s retirement, invalidity or death will be rejected.
“Although one would have expected people to claim their retirement, invalidity or survivor’s benefit soon after becoming eligible for it and although five years would seem more than sufficient time within which to lodge a claim, we have found that there are many people who were unaware of this time limit for lodging claims and who have sought to lodge claims outside it,” said Mr Matiza

“We have decided, therefore, to give those who, in most cases through ignorance, have been unable to successfully lodge a claim due to the prescribed time period for claims of five years having been exceeded, a once only opportunity to lodge or resubmit their claims next year.”
Retirement grants and survivor’s grants are pay-able by NSSA to contributors to the National Pension and Other Benefits Scheme or, in the case of their death, their surviving spouse and children or other dependants, where contributions have been made for 12 months or more but for less than the 120 months necessary to qualify for a pension.

The survivor’s grant is also payable to the surviving spouse, children or other dependants of a former contributor who had already attained retirement age at the time of death.

Invalidity grants are payable to contributors below the age of 60 medically certified as permanently incapable of work due to physical or mental ill-health who have contributed to the scheme for at least six months but for less than the minimum 12 months required to qualify for an invalidity pension.