Thousands Eligible for Social Security Pensions

Thousands Eligible for Social Security Pensions
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 3/20/2012

Once thousands of workers are deemed eligible for the Old Age Pension, Disability and Survivor’s Pensions (SVDS in Spanish), passed on June 1, 2003, they will be able to solicit the transfer immediately to the Benefits System, voluntarily and with no time limits, according to a decision taken by the National Social Security Council through Resolution No. 289-03.

Affiliates who were over the age of 45 when the SVDS went into effect and who have rights acquired by Social Security Laws 1896-48 and/or 379-81 on Retirement and Pensions of Public Sector Workers and…

Affiliates who were over the age of 45 when the SVDS went into effect and who have rights acquired by Social Security Laws 1896-48 and/or 379-81 on Retirement and Pensions of Public Sector Workers and who were automatically or voluntarily affiliated with the Administrator of Pension Funds (AFP in Spanish), will be eligible to seek their benefits, according to Rafael Pérez Modesto, General Manager of the National Social Security Council.

He said the resolution specifies that all those affiliated who receive a disability pension through the Insurance Company hired by the AFP where they are affiliated, can begin the benefits process once they fulfill the established requirements.

“We consider that this is an important decision and one with important social content in that there are around 5,000 people waiting for this move. The system has been dragging out this situation ever since the Old Age Pension, Disability and Survivor’s Pensions went into effect in 2003. The number of affiliates is from an increasing projection,” said Mr. Pérez Modesto.

He explained that one aspect of receiving benefits under this SDSS decision is that the recipient will be able to transfer his/her benefits without any delay and will be able to claim benefits for the total number of years worked.

“Thousand of Dominicans who were waiting for their pensions that were held up in the Ministry of Finance can now choose to receive them immediately by transfer, of course, once they fulfill the requirements,” said Pérez Modesto.

He specified that with this decision, the SDSS is fulfilling one of its goals established for 2012. This resolution is the result of collaboration on the part of the Ministry of Finance, the AFP, the Administrator of Pension Funds, the Office of Information and Defense of Affiliates, the Superintendence of Pensions (SIPEN in Spanish) and the Council as the coordinating body. The decision, taken by the CNSS Plenum, was unanimous.

Applications

Reentry applications will be received through the Office of Information and Defense of Affiliates (DIDA in Spanish) and will be reviewed and approved by an Inter-Institutional Commission comprised of  DIDA, SIPEN, the Ministry of Finance and the ADAFP. The last two will participate in the role of observers, following the established procedure as established in the CNSS’s Resolution No. 189-06 of September 4, 2008.

In a period of 60 business days, starting from approval and notification of the Resolution, DIDA must deal with the cases presented to the CNSS and that are within their authority to be submitted later to the Commission.

The DIDA will identify the most effect means to carry out the distribution and promotion activity with the goal of bringing together all the workers involved in this process.


Reunión del Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Social.