The pension holiday has been in place since June of 2020, put in place as a COVID relief measure, has been extended for the final time to June 30, 2022, by way of cabinet order. This is under sction1(3) of the National Pensions (Amendment) Act 2020. This announcement was made by the Ministry of Border Control and Labour and the Department of Labour and Pensions recently.
The pension holiday was put in place so that companies had more cash flowing to cover the essential expenses, including insurance, payroll, etc. This gave employees a much more flexible salary to work with amid a pandemic and their costs.
“The pandemic created challenges for both employees and employers and those currently seeking employment. With the relaxation of some travel restrictions, the resumption of commercial airline flights, and the upcoming reintroduction of cruise tourism, the decision to extend the pension holiday for another three months was made to allow additional time for businesses to grow to full strength as the country reopens.” Said Deputy Premier and Minister for Labour Hon. Chris Saunders.
Government-owned and statutory companies are still required to make pension payments to their respective plans. The Department of Labour and Pensions remind the public that contributions can be made to the pension funds. Either the employee or the employer may opt to pay voluntary pension contributions; however, the other party is not required to contribute.
