Increase in pensionable age Right now the age from which you can receive an NIS Pension is 66 years but because of Pension Reform, this will change. Since January 1, 2006 , pensionable age has been increasing by 6 months ( every four years) until it reaches 67 on January 1, 2018. Flexible retirement Other changes which came about from Pension Reform include the introduction of flexible retirement/pensionable ages. This means that eventually you will be able to retire at any age between 60 and 70. This change is being phased in so at this time you can receive early pension from 64 but in the future others will be able to do so from age 60. For more information visit the Pension Reform site. Am I eligible for Old Age Contributory Grant or Pension? What's the difference? To qualify for an old age contributory grant you must be of pensionable age and have at least 50 contributions paid or credited to your account. But to receive the pension you must have at least 150 contributions actually paid into your account and a total of 500 contributions paid or credited to your account How is the grant calculated? It's equal to 6 weeks' average insurable earnings for each 50 contributions actually paid or credited to your account. What's the calculation for the pension? The annual rate of pension is 40% of your average annual insurable earnings supplemented by 1% of the total insurable earnings on which contributions were based subsequent to the first 500 contributions paid or credited. This is subject to a maximum of 60% of your average insurable earnings (at pensionable age) and a minimum pension of $133 a week. For more information download the Guide to Benefits booklet which you can view in Adobe Acrobat. If you don't have Acrobat, click here to download it. Have more questions or need to clearly understand the terms used? Take a look through the FAQ or the Glossary in the Information Zone. |
