Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said the Government intends to introduce a new national pension plan.This would incorporate the present National Insurance Board's (NIB) national insurance plan with other groups of people who are not included in the system."We are looking at a national insurance programme from which we can take the existing programme to create sustainability. Pension reform has been on the agenda for the last 20 years. We want to expand it beyond the public sector to include individuals who are self employed in this programme. So far it has been largely confined to issues affecting the public sector," he said.
He added that there are different pieces of legislation which the Government now has to tie together to make the national pension plan possible."There are many legislative pieces on the books on different aspects of pensions. The objective is to harmonise all of them. At this point, we are on the drawing board because we started this after the budget. We recognise the importance of introducing a harmonised system," he said.He was speaking yesterday at the commemoration of the Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) $1 billion bond at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain.
Citibank acted as the sole arranger for the corporate bond issuance by GHL, which represents the largest local currency issue and the longest tenor made available to a private sector entity in T&T.Dookeran referred to a study he recently read, but did not name, that stated that the financial crisis caused by Colonial Life Insurance Company (Clico) caused a 17 per cent loss of wealth in the Caribbean.Despite this, he said the issuance of this bond shows that there is a growing confidence in the economy.
Dookeran also wants to go to Parliament in April to seek to raise the debt ceiling."We will be going maybe in April to raise the limit for borrowing so that we will be able to raise some issues of our own. I don't have the figures with me at the moment but that will come out in due course," he said.He added that there are political obstacles in trying to do this."We have to go to Parliament to seek support for our borrowing capabilities. That as you know is a political hurdle that must be moved and overcome," he said.