Imprisoned OAPs could be paid pension
PLANS have been drawn up to increase Guernsey’s old age pension by £5.22 per week next year, taking the full rate to £222.58 per week.
Employment & Social Security also wants pensioners who are jailed to be able to receive a lump sum payment of part of their pension on release.
The current situation is that when a person is imprisoned, all benefit payments stop automatically, but there has been international discussion about whether, regarding the state pension, this is an additional punishment along with that imposed by the court.
Whilst this has not been tested through the Guernsey court system, the committee believes there is justification for re-considering the total disqualification of pensions during imprisonment.
It is thought the current suspension of pensions has a negative impact on prisoners’ lives after prison because they may be released with no savings to help them resettle in the community.
This may increase their susceptibility to homelessness and the likelihood of re-offending.
ESS has decided the fairest and easiest way of implementing some support for pensioners in prison, is to pay their pension for the last 18 weeks of their sentence.
In its latest policy letter, ESS is also proposing to increase most benefits, such as sickness, unemployment, parental and bereavement benefits, by 2.4%.
However it is not recommending any changes in the percentage rates of contributions for 2020.
It had considered a 0.5% increase in order to secure the long-term financial stability of the Guernsey Insurance Fund, but following discussions with the States senior committee, Policy & Resources, this idea was abandoned for the time being.
The States has an existing policy of uprating pensions and benefits using inflation figures and the most recent median earnings.
In June, inflation was running at 1.9%, and the most recent median earnings index figure was 3.3%.
From next year the pensionable age in Guernsey starts increasing until it reaches age 70 in 2049.
The reason for the change is to stem the decline of the Guernsey Insurance Fund as the population ages and people live longer into retirement.
The rate of increase will be two months every 10 months, so that means someone who turns 65 next year will have to wait an extra two months before their old age pension kicks in.
It is also suggested that the old age pension is renamed ‘states pension’ from January 2020 because the current title has been deemed ‘outdated’.
ESS also wants to increase prescription charges, for those who are not exempt from paying it, taking it from £4 per item to £4.10 from 1 January.
