Premier apologises for delay in retiree pension increases

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has apologised to government retirees after a long-awaited increase in their pension payments was delayed due to inaccuracies discovered during an internal audit.

Appearing on the Talking Points programme recently, Dr Wheatley said Cabinet had already approved the pension increases, but the payments were put on hold after officials identified errors in the calculations that needed to be corrected before the money could be released.

“First of all, let me apologise to the government retirees,” Premier Wheatley said.

The Premier explained that Cabinet approved the increase during its meeting last week, with the package valued at more than $6 million for higher pension payments for government retirees. However, he said the Financial Secretary subsequently advised that Internal Audit had reviewed the figures and found inaccuracies.

“The most important thing is that we don’t make a mistake and that we won’t be able to easily correct,” Dr Wheatley said. “We just have to ensure that whatever mistakes were made in terms of some of the calculations that were discovered by Internal Audit, that those are corrected so that those payments could be made as quickly as possible.”

Premier Wheatley said the government welcomed the audit process despite the delay, noting that it helped prevent further administrative problems before payments were issued.

He also reminded retirees that the funding for the increases had already been included in the 2026 budget, where his administration announced that pension payments for retired public officers would be increased after years without an adjustment.

The government has been under pressure for several years to improve pension payments for retired public officers, with legislators and other public officials arguing that many retirees have struggled to keep pace with inflation and rising living costs.