The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is launching a campaign to help pensioners transition from pension book payments to bank accounts or Mobile Money Guyana (MMG).
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud stated the initiative is designed to remove unnecessary hardship from the pension collection process.
Through the campaign, the human services ministry will work alongside financial institutions and relevant agencies to assist pensioners in opening bank and MMG accounts in their own names, ensuring their pensions are deposited directly into their accounts each month.
“You don’t have to go around and get a pension book. It is deposited in your account every month. You can take out all the money, you can take out some of it, you can do that anytime you want,” Minister Persaud said.
She emphasised that the campaign is important for older pensioners and those living far from distribution centres.
“This system is safer and gives our senior citizens peace of mind, knowing their pension is secure,” the minister added.
The campaign also targets newly eligible pensioners, encouraging them to choose digital payments from the outset as part of the government’s broader efforts to modernise public services.
The old-age pension now stands at $41,000 per month, following an increase effective January 1, 2025.
Last August, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced plans to increase the old-age pension to $60,000 a month and introduce a new $50,000 grant per year to offset transportation costs for pensioners.