Local News

Finance Minister announces $250 increase in senior citizens’ pension

12 October 2026
This content originally appeared on Trinidad Guardian.
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Fi­nance Min­is­ter Dav­en­dranath Tan­coo has an­nounced a $250 in­crease in the se­nior cit­i­zens’ pen­sion, pub­lic as­sis­tance grants and dis­abil­i­ty as­sis­tance grants, ef­fec­tive Jan­u­ary 1, 2027.

Pre­sent­ing the 2027 Na­tion­al Bud­get in Par­lia­ment to­day, Tan­coo said the in­crease in the se­nior cit­i­zens’ pen­sion would ben­e­fit 124,000 re­cip­i­ents.

He said the last in­crease in the pen­sion was 12 years ago, un­der the then prime min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar.

“This Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar Gov­ern­ment will in­crease the se­nior cit­i­zens grant by $250 per month,” Tan­coo said.

The pub­lic as­sis­tance grants will al­so in­crease by $250, ben­e­fit­ing 13,637 re­cip­i­ents, while the $250 in­crease in dis­abil­i­ty as­sis­tance grants for adults and chil­dren is ex­pect­ed to ben­e­fit a fur­ther 28,000 re­cip­i­ents.

Tan­coo said the in­creas­es would put more mon­ey di­rect­ly in­to the hands of peo­ple who need­ed it most.

“These in­creas­es will put mon­ey di­rect­ly, more mon­ey di­rect­ly in­to the hands of those who need it the most,” he said.