Roy Williams

Sixty-nine-year-old Roy Williams said his living condition is now deteriorating after failing efforts to receive his National Insurance Scheme (NIS) payment in March.

Williams said he was to receive a payment of $249,000, but instead it was handed over to another Roy Williams.

He was employed to Polyflex Foam Limited from 1983 and was still working even after his retirement.

But his major source of earning came to an end when the company was destroyed by fire.

The retiree said he wasn't altogether worried as he was depending on his NIS pension for survival, but that also failed.

The senior citizen made several visits to the Ministry of Social Security but was told the matter was being investigated and would soon be resolved.

He is now disgruntled as to date he has not heard when he will receive his payment.

His compulsory savings, along with the payment he received from the company he used to be employed at, is what he survived from, but that is almost extinguished.

Giving up electricity, telephone

"I will have to give up my electricity and telephone because the little money I got is finishing and I have no other source to finance them. I have hernia so I can't work so I don't know how I am going to manage," he lamented.

The man who lives alone in Kingston said he has no one to stand up for him, and he could hardly manage to do it on his own.

Brian Moore, director of funds account at the ministry, confirmed the issue and said the other Roy Williams also produced an identification card.

He said the ministry was in the process of doing some internal investigation of the matter and the money would be paid soon.

"It doesn't happen frequently, it's just a slip because each person is assigned a NIS number and a claim number, which are unique to the individual, so we are in the process of working out his payment," he said.

But he was hesitant to divulge information on how a mistake of that nature could occur at the ministry and the measures in place to prevent any reoccurrence.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Alwin McIntosh, was also contacted but he said he was unable to comment on the issue as he was off the island.

He directed The Gleaner to Denzil Thorpe, the director of national insurance, who said he couldn't comment on the matter unless he gets permission from the permanent secretary.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com