Pension
Everyone deserves their flowers after many years of hard work. However, we know that there can be confusion and grey area about how to access your government pension and about the available contributory benefits.
The first step is to ask questions early! Make sure that you follow up with the department of social insurance to receive a status update on your pension contribution.
If you have yet to apply for your contributory pension, you can find the application form on the social insurance website or by clicking on this link. You are not eligible to receive your pension until the age of 65, but it is strongly recommended that you pay into it during working years (18-65) so that you can receive the greatest benefit once you reach retirement age.
Here are a few general answers to frequently asked questions about pensions:
How do I access my pension? For people who are at the age of 65 or near their 65th birthday, you can either come into the social insurance office to receive a Contributory Pension Application; visit this link on the Gov website or email sibenefits@gov.bm to obtain an application form. When applying you are required to provide a COPY of your passport OR birth certificate AND ID, and a copy of your bank statement which clearly shows your name on the account and your account number. If you are using an overseas bank account, you must also submit a Crown Agents Mandate form which The Department can provide to you.
Can I get my spouse’s pension if they are deceased? If your spouse’s pension is a greater amount than your own you can complete and submit a survivor’s benefit form, however; by law you can only receive one pension (which would be the higher $ amount). If your spouse had not reached retirement age at the time they passed, you can still apply to receive a refund of their contributions which could be a one-time pay-out or a monthly payment depending on the number of contributions they had at the time of their passing.
What will my benefits be? Send an email to sicontributions@gov.bm requesting a record of contributions. Once their Contributions department provides you with your record, you can then forward it to sibenefits@gov.bm and request your pension projection.
What happens if my employer skipped payments while I was employed by them? If your employer skipped payments, one of the investigators from the social insurance compliance team can look into the matter. However, if you have missing contributions due to a period of unemployment or skipped payments, you are able to make voluntary contributions at your own expense, if it is before your 65th birthday.
Can I get a pension if I never worked? If you have never contributed into the pension scheme, you can complete a non-contributory pension application in order to receive a non-contributory pension which works out to approximately $520 a month.
What is the maximum amount? How would I be eligible for the maximum benefit rate? The maximum amount you can receive monthly is roughly $1600. In order to receive a 100% benefit rate, a person would have to work roughly from their 18th birthday up until Bermuda’s retirement age (65). There are often people that do not qualify for a 100% benefit but would like to make voluntary contributions to do so. However, based on the year you joined the pension scheme, you may not be able to contribute in-full. Therefore, you may not receive a 100% benefit even if you wanted to make additional contributions on missing years.