Cayman’s public service retirees will each have an extra $500 in their bank accounts this Christmas, Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has announced.
O’Connor-Connolly, speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, said public service pensioners will receive the additional payment during the month of December.
“This special payment is made in recognition of the significant contributions our retired public servants have made to the building of these beloved Cayman Islands,” she said.
The payments will be made via the Public Service Pension Board, she told legislators.
“This programme is fully funded by savings realised elsewhere within the government’s existing [human resources] budget. The HR savings were realised as a result of prudent financial management by the deputy governor and his team of chief officers,” she said.
This move, she said, means that the additional payment is “budget neutral in the 2024 year, while providing much-needed relief for retired public servants”.
The $500 payment doubles the amount pensioners received last Christmas season.
2,500 pensioners to benefit
The premier said the decision to increase the payment was taken due to “increasing pressures on pensioners’ purchasing power as we enter the holiday season”.
She said the ex-gratia payment will benefit some 2,500 pensioners in the public service.
Since 2022, she said, pensioners have received a cumulative total increase of 15.5% through the annual inflation adjustment.
The premier’s announcement comes on the heels of a $2,000 Christmas bonus for government workers.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, speaking in Parliament on the budget changes that made way for the additional pension payment, said the funds come from within the 2024 budget and were “cost neutral.”
Manderson said the Portfolio of the Civil Service and the Public Service Pension Board are working collaboratively and “with urgency” to deliver the payments before Christmas.
“Even with the inclusion of this expense, the government has maintained compliance with the principles of responsible financial management. Such an act underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to demonstrate both passion and wise financial management,” Manderson said.
This additional payment follows the premier’s announcement of an increase in duty allowance from $500 to $1,000 for the holiday season.
It also follows approval by Cabinet of a $250 holiday season payment to people who receive long-term financial assistance through the Needs Assessment Unit and recipients of the Seafarers and Veterans Ex-Gratia Benefit.
That holiday season payment was expected to be paid this week.
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