Introduction
The Benefits and Awards in this document are for those Public Officers and Police Officers at the rank of Inspectors and above, who qualify for benefits under The Pensions Act, Chapter 35 (now Chapter 43) of the Statute Laws of The Bahamas. This document does not cover Benefits and Awards for police officers (below the rank of Inspectors), prison officers and officers of the Defence Force.
Purpose of The Pension Plan
The Public Service Pension Plan, under Chapter 43 (previously Chapter 35), of The Statute Laws of The Bahamas is a non-contributory plan. The purpose of the plan is to award pensions and gratuities to public officers. In order to qualify for the award of a pension, officers must be members of the Pensionable Establishment and have a minimum of five (5) years continuous service before reaching the mandatory age of retirement. Pensionable officers may retire early, with the award of pensions, provided they meet at least one (1) of the options (choices) stipulated in The Pensions Act. Service for any benefit under the Pension Plan must be continuous i.e. unbroken. Years of continuous service on temporary terms, whether weekly or monthly are counted. Periods of absence taken on unpaid (no pay) leave and service on contract, while they do not break an officer’s service, are not counted in the pension / gratuity calculation.
The amount of the pension awarded to public officers is determined by the number of continuous months of employment and the annual salary at the time of retirement. Officers may take the maximum (full) pension for their months of service, in which case they will not receive the lump sum gratuity. However, officers may opt to take a reduced pension of 75% of their maximum (full) pension, and in this case they would receive a lump sum gratuity equal to 25% of their maximum (full) pension multiplied by ten (10).
Officers who do not qualify for the award of a pension, and provided they had completed at least ten (10) years of continuous monthly service, will be eligible for a gratuity equivalent to 4% of the annual salary at the time of retirement, multiplied by the number of completed years of service (less any periods taken on unpaid (no pay) leave and / or contract).
There is no absolute right to the benefits that are awarded under The Pensions Act. The benefits are only awarded for good and faithful service and will be withheld in part or whole where officers are found to be guilty of disgraceful conduct or gross dereliction of duty or indebted to the Government of The Bahamas for any public money which came to their hands either legally or illegally.
The rate of inflation is not reflected in the Pension Plan. However, The Bahamas Government may from time to time increase the amount of the monthly pension paid to former public officers. The percentage of the increase will be decided by the Government.
The pension awarded to public officers is payable for life. On death of the pensioner the surviving spouse or dependant may make application for a gratuity called an Ex-Gratia Award equivalent to one (1) year’s pension, upon presentation of certain documents.
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