Govt of St. Kitts and Nevis to benefit GAE workers with pension from July 2024

Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is all set to provide pension for the GAE Workers, starting from July 2024. Meanwhile, the administration is also aiming to implement the Children’s Savings and Financial Literacy Program by the month of September 2024.

For these two major policies, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrance Drew will collaborate with his A-Team for the successful execution of these programmes. The leader of the nation aims to make a larger effort with the implementation of these policies and end poverty with a vision to extend help to the deserving GAE Workers.

This program is designed by the government in order to protect and ensure financial stability for Government Auxiliary Employees. During the sitting of National Assembly on 2nd May 2024, PM Drew announces that payments will begin in July of 2024 which indicates that this measure will bring benefits to thousands of people in the Federation.

“I am pleased to remind the GAE workers and the country on a whole that thousands will benefit,” noted Dr. Terrance Drew.

He also shared that since he took up the charge of the country, he and his Cabinet colleagues were able to bring together the framework for the operationalisation of pension payments. While sharing that, he criticized the previous government for denying the pension of GAE workers for too long.

He further asserted that Unity government not only gave them their pension but also cut their gratuity by nearly two third. Therefore, he made continued efforts to restore their payments and presented them with their monies during a ceremony which was conducted in June 2023.

Notably, in order to have access to the pension, the Government Auxiliary Employee must be at least 62 years old and should have contributed their 15 years of services for the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Moreover, the announcement of the Children’s Savings and Financial Literacy Program was made by PM Terrance Drew during 2024 Budget Address by the leader. He aimed to enhance the financial literacy and well-being of the youth of the nation with the implementation of this significant initiative. Under this policy, every young citizen aged 5 to 18 will be funded with EC$1000 in their savings account.

PM Drew remarked that this initiative is not just about economic growth but also empowering the next generation and contributing to their development and prosperity.