WILLEMSTAD – Retirees in Curaçao have not received a legally required pension increase for the past three years, resulting in significant loss of purchasing power—amounting to thousands of guilders per person. The delay is causing growing frustration and political finger-pointing.
The Social Insurance Bank (SVB) blames the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for the issue. According to former SVB director Philip Martis, the monthly economic growth data needed to adjust pensions under the current law has not been made available by CBS.
Since 2013, the law mandates that the AOV pension must be increased annually in August, based on economic growth. However, CBS does not publish monthly growth figures, making compliance with the law impossible. The SVB has proposed returning to the previous system, where pension increases were tied to inflation. CBS itself supports this shift, saying inflation is a more accurate indicator of how much the cost of living has risen.
Political Standoff Over Pension Reform
Former Minister Ruthmilda Larmonie-Cecilia (PNP) claims she signed off on a proposal to base pension increases on inflation back in 2017. However, she says the process stalled at the Ministry of Finance. Current Minister of Finance Javier Silvania (MFK) disputes that version of events, stating that Larmonie never submitted a complete legislative file.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Giselle Mc William of the MAN-PIN faction has submitted a new bill that would restore the inflation-based pension adjustments. “The last time pensions were increased was under former Minister Hensley Koeiman of the MAN party,” she noted.
Mc William accused Minister Silvania of distorting facts by claiming the MAN party ruled for 12 consecutive years. “The last MAN-led cabinet served from 2017 to 2021. Anyone can verify that,” she said.
Pensioners Caught in the Crossfire
Mc William emphasized that her bill is the only current proposal that aims to retroactively compensate retirees for missed increases since 2013. “The minister should not try to dictate what parliament can or cannot do. That’s not how a democracy works.”
She called on the government to stop the political bickering and instead focus on providing pensioners with the increases they’re legally entitled to. “The elderly don’t want a political fight. They want their pension to keep up with the cost of groceries.”
MAN-PIN is open to supporting any proposal that ensures a pension increase. “If the government comes with a plan that fixes this, we’ll back it,” Mc William added. “But blaming the past won’t help retirees at the supermarket checkout.”
