More NIS Pensioners to Receive Payments Through Direct Deposits

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Colette Roberts-Risden, says the Ministry is looking to increase the number of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pensioners receiving payments through direct deposits to 30 per cent in 2019/2020.

“We have over 110,000 pensioners… . We have roughly 20 per cent of our pensioners receiving payments directly to their bank accounts. By the end of March 2020, we want to make it that 30 per cent of pensioners receive their payments (via direct deposit),” Mrs. Roberts-Risden said.

She was speaking at the National Consumers League World Consumer Rights Day public forum held on March 13 at the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) corporate office in St. Andrew.

The Permanent Secretary noted that the initiative is part of a Ministry-wide mandate to digitise and modernise its operations to improve customer service.

“Our vision in the Ministry is to have all of our benefit applications online in order to increase accessibility,” she said.

Another initiative under the digitisation process is the piloting of an automated application system for funeral grants for NIS pensioners. This will commence in April.

“We are going to be piloting that process at our Ripon Road office and by the end of the year, we would have ironed out all the kinks so that when persons make their funeral grant applications, we will be able to make that payment within two weeks,” Mrs. Roberts-Risden said.

Additionally, Mrs. Roberts-Risden said the Ministry is looking into implementing case management/client relationship manager software to act as a central repository for client information, requested services, and the rate of resolution and remedies. She said that this system is to be implemented by the end of 2021.

World Consumer Rights Day was observed internationally on March 15 under the theme ‘Trusted Smart Products’.