National Pensions Bill deferred
Pending further public discussions, your pension plan remains unchanged
The National Pensions Bill, introduced in May – and reported on in our August bulletin (see On the horizon) – was recently deferred by the Legislative Assembly while it considers amendments. Designed primarily to address non-compliant employers and to raise the “pensionable age” (the age at which members are normally eligible to receive pension benefits) from age 65, the bill’s deferral means that your pension plan will remain unchanged for the time being.
The deferral is likely the product of a public commentary period, as well as extensive public discussion over the past several months. The Cayman Islands government has given no formal indication of the changes (if any) it is considering, although the amended bill is expected to be finalized in the late spring of 2013.
Of special note for Silver Thatch members, public discussion included two televised panel debates on Cayman 27 (on October 10th and 17th), called The Future of Pensions. The panelists included our own Carlyle McLaughlin Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Silver Thatch Pension Plan, and Brian Williams, CEO of Saxon Pension Services, the plan’s client services manager. The panel also included several pension experts and Members of the Legislative Assembly, including Rolston Anglin, Minister of Education, Training and Employment. Both panel discussions are posted online and can be viewed at: www.cayman27.com.ky/?s=pensions.
The following is a guide to some of the issues raised as part of these panel discussions, and of key interest to employers and employees