| Date: | 1972- |
| Web: | Official website of the programme |
| Description: | This non-contributory pension programme, which has its foundation in National Insurance Act of 1972, is aimed to provide assistance to the older persons who didn't qualify for retirement pension and who are determined to be vulnerable by a means test. In order to maintain their eligibility, the recipients should not be absent from Bahamas for more than 3 months. |
Characteristics
| Target population: | 1) Persons who have attained age 65 who do not qualify for retirement benefit. |
| Geographic scale: | National |
| Targeting method: | 1) Categorical : Requirements for age (65 years or more), citizenship or residency 2) Means test: Vulnerable population (tested by Test-of-Resources) |
| Instrument of selection: | Test-of-Resources |
| Registry of recipients: | … |
| Exit strategies or criteria: | Loss of eligibility |
| Comments: | To be eligible for the pension, the person has to be a citizen, or an ordinary resident in Bahamas and should have worked as an employed or self-employed person for a period of no less than 12 consecutive months within the 15 years preceding the time of application. People who were in receipt of pension under Old-age Pensions Act before October 1974 continued to be eligible for the pension under OANCP. The participante of the pension programme must provide verifying documentations twice per year. If the recipient of the pension fails to go through the verification system within the designated time period, the transfer will be suspended, and it can take up to 2 months to be resumed. According to the amendment act of 2012, former recipients of the Retirement Grant who qualify for OANCP can also receive the non-contributory pension once the effective months of the assistance by the grant have been terminated. |
Institutionality
| Legal framework: | National Insurance Act 1972 (No. 21 of 1972) |
| Responsible organization(s): | Ministry of Public Service and National Insurance |
| Executing organization(s): | The National Insurance Board |
| Responsible organization(s) for the registry of recipients: | Offices of National Insurance Board |
| Source of funding: | The National Insurance Fund |
1) Old-age Non-Contributory Pension (OANCP)
| Recipient(s): | Persons at age 65 who do not qualify for retirement benefit |
| Mode of transfer: | Monetary |
| Mode of delivery: | … |
| Periodicity of delivery: | Monthly |
| Recipient of the transfer: | Direct participant |
| Maximum per household: | … |
| Conditionalities: | -- |
| Sanctions: | -- |
| Comments: | Due to the amendment to the national insurance programmes and contribution regulations in 2010, the amount of the pension increases every other year in July, starting from July, 2010. The increment of the amount is adjusted according to the inflation level. |
| Amount : | BSD $256.45 (2013); see data Excel format |
