Premier apologises to retirees left out of salary increases

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has apologised to retired public servants who were not included in the recent salary increases awarded to active government employees, pledging that pensioners will see a boost in their benefits in the upcoming budget.

Speaking on the government’s Virgin Islands Voice programme, Dr Wheatley said the omission was an oversight and promised that it would be corrected.

“I sincerely apologise to the pensioners who did not get that increase along with the public officers,” he stated. “If I knew it was the practice, of course, we’ve just made the money available for the salary implementation of a new salary… but it’s been brought to my attention that when we have upgrades to the salary, the pensioners are taken care of at the same time,” he explained.

Dr Wheatley said his administration intends to raise the pension benefits of retirees in the upcoming fiscal year. He added that officials are examining whether the adjustment could be applied retroactively but noted that this will depend on the territory’s financial position.

“I’ll have to check with the financial secretary to see whether we can afford to make it retroactive, but certainly moving forward,” he stated.

The Premier said the government plans to introduce regular reviews of pension payments to ensure they keep pace with the cost of living. “We could tie it to the Consumer Pricing Index, so to speak, tie it to inflation so that they get increases along with inflation every few years,” he added.

Earlier this year, the government spent roughly $30 million to implement pay rises for public officers, with some receiving close to 100 percent increases. However, the adjustment did not extend to retirees, drawing criticism from some members of the public.

The issue of pension reform has been a long-standing concern in the Virgin Islands. In recent years, advocacy groups have called for a more structured mechanism to review benefits and to ensure fairness between active and retired officers.

Dr Wheatley described the situation as a “learning experience” and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting those who dedicated their lives to public service. “I think what we need to do, similarly to public officers, is to have regular reviews of the pensioners’ benefits so that we could ensure that they keep pace with the cost of living,” he said.