| Date: | 2001- |
| Web: | Official website of the programme |
| Description: | The SCP is a monthly grant paid to persons aged 65 or more based on their income and residential status. SCP recipients must be resident in Trinidad and Tobago for 20 years preceding the date of application. Any periods of absence must not exceed five years in the aggregate during the 20 years preceding the application. SCP recipients must also have spent a period of at least fifty (50) years total in the country to be eligible for the programme. |
Characteristics
| Target population: | Senior citizens 65 years old or older in a situation of socio-economic vulnerability. |
| Geographic scale: | National |
| Targeting method: | 1) Categorical: Senior citizens 65 years old or older. SCP recipients must be resident in Trinidad and Tobago for 20 years preceding the date of application. Any periods of absence must not exceed five years in the aggregate during the 20 years preceding the application. SCP recipients must also have spent a period of at least fifty (50) years total in the country to be eligible for the programme. 2) Verification of indirect means (proxy means test): Income lower than non-contributory pension. |
| Instrument of selection: | … |
| Registry of recipients: | … |
| Exit strategies or criteria: | … |
| Comments: | As part of the measures to face the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and social isolation, food support was provided to people who applied for the Senior Citizen Pension, but whose applications were still pending. Additionally, the requirement for a life certificate was suspended during the pandemic. The programme changed its name from Old Age Pension to Senior Citizens' Grant in 2008 and then to Senior Citizens' Pension in 2008. Launch of the Automated Senior Citizens’ Pension Process: The Automated Senior Citizens’ Pension Process was launched by the MSDFS on March 29, 2021. This new service allows senior citizens the ability to apply for their Senior Citizens’ Pension (SCP) via an online platform and ultimately reduces the need for this vulnerable population to visit Local Boards. |
Institutionality
| Legal framework: | Senior Citizens’ Pension Act, updated 31 December 2014. |
| Responsible organization(s): | Social Welfare Division (SWD) of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services (MSDFS) |
| Executing organization(s): | Social Welfare Division (SWD) of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services (MSDFS) |
| Source of funding: | … |
1) Senior Citizens' Pension
| Recipient(s): | All participants of the programme |
| Mode of transfer: | Flat transfer |
| Mode of delivery: | Transfer to bank account or check mailed directly to recipient's address |
| Periodicity of delivery: | Monthly |
| Recipient of the transfer: | Direct participant |
| Maximum per household: | Two transfers |
| Conditionalities: | Does not have |
| Sanctions: | … |
| Comments: | … |
| Amount : | TTD 500-3500 in 2020, see data in excel format |
Social Protection Floors in Action: 100 success stories to achieve Universal Social Protection and SDG 1.3. Universal pensions and care for elderly people. Trinidad and Tobago
| Author: | ILO |
| Date: | 2017 |
| Publication info: | Policy brief from the Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization (ILO). |
| Link: | See Webpage |
| Topic: | General information |
Social Protection Floors. Volume 1. Universal Schemes.
| Author: | Ortiz, I., V. Schmitt and L. De. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| Publication info: | ILO publication |
| Link: | See Webpage |
| Topic: | General information |
