On social media and in interviews with local press outlets, Social Security Board officials have kicked off 2018 by reminding residents to check the status of their social security payments and ensure their contributions are up to date.

Doing so can prevent situations where employees find themselves unable to collect their assumed benefits upon retirement or other potential payout scenarios, according to SSB Director Antoinette Skelton.

Section 13 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations does prohibit the SSB from withholding any benefits from employees whose employers fail to pay their end of the contributions.

“Non-payment of contributions not in conformity with Regulation 10, made by an employer, shall in no way affect the benefits that an employee is entitled to under the Ordinance,” the legislation reads.

Regulation 10 lays out the schedule for employer payments.

Despite this legal protection, however, Ms. Skelton noted there are still risks for people who don’t check the status of their payments: Delinquent employers, she explained, are often in violation of other pieces of legislation like the Labour Code.

If an employer’s illegal status prevents an employee from displaying any legitimate proof of income, the SSB cannot fork over any benefits to that person, Ms. Skelton said.

Despite the intensive effort to convince members of public to check on their own contribution statuses, the director maintains her organisation works hard to seek out delinquent employers.

“We have an aggressive collection effort,” Ms. Skelton said, noting the SSB utlises legal counsel to reach out to noncompliant employers. “We don’t sit and wait.”

The SSB’s contributions department can be reached at 494-6833.

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