Pension pressure for St John man

Wayne “Ricky” Gibbons of Gall Hill, St John, has suddenly lost his $750 pension which Government replaced with a $24 monthly cost of living allowance.

And he doesn’t understand why, since the Government said it would reverse the decision.

Gibbons spent more than two decades watching over the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a security officer until it took its toll and he was forced to retire medically unfit with severe back problems. He agreed to take the gratuity and reduced pension and also applied for the invalidity benefit from the National Insurance Scheme.

“At the time, I didn’t know I could apply for invalidity, but two doctors advised me to do it and now that is pretty much all I have. Anyone in a similar situation to me, who wasn’t as lucky to get that advice, would only be getting that cost of living allowance,” he said.

Gibbons’ story got worse shortly before Tropical Storm Dorian passed, when a driver lost control and slammed into his parked vehicle on his property.

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