CARICOM Social Security Agreement

• Author: Duke Pollard
• Profession: Sitting senior judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the highest appellate municipal court of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
• Pages: 234-257

234 THE CARICOM SYSTEM

12

CARICOM SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT

When the Conference of Heads of Government convened in Grand Anse, Grenada, in

1989 for their tenth meeting, one of the most far-reaching determinations they made

was to establish a CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Subsequently, the Heads

of Government also decided that university graduates and persons with certain other

categories of skills, e.g. media workers, sports persons, artistes and musicians, should

enjoy the right to reside and work in any Member State of their choice. It was always

understood that this right would be qualified by the right of the host Member State to

take such action as may be considered necessary for the protection of its security interests.

This right of movement would have proved to be illusory unless the persons entitled

were accorded other contingent rights like the right to take social security benefits

earned in one jurisdiction to another jurisdiction of choice.

With the provisional application of Protocol II, now Chapter Three of the Revised

Treaty of Chaguaramas, Community nationals were granted the right of establishment

and the right to provide services. One implication of this is that independent contractors

who voluntarily subscribed to social security schemes may have wished to transfer

their benefits to jurisdictions of their employment. The benefits covered in the Agreement

are invalidity pensions; disablement pensions; old age or retirement pensions and death

benefits in the form of pensions. Article 5 of the Agreement provides that unless

otherwise specified in the Agreement, these benefits provided for in the applicable

legislation of Contracting Parties should not be reduced, modified, suspended or forfeited

by reason only of the fact that the claimant is resident in the territory of another

Contracting Party other than that of the Contracting Party where the competent institution

liable to pay such benefits is situated. Furthermore, where the applicable legislation of

a Contracting Party makes entitlement to voluntary insurance conditional upon

completion of a specified number of insurance periods, the competent institution must

take into account all insurance periods completed under the applicable legislation of

other Contracting Parties.

Articles 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Agreement are critical for the effectiveness of the

social security arrangements contemplated. Article 16 provides that where an insured

person satisfies the conditions for a benefit in one or more jurisdictions, that person is

entitled to the benefit in accordance with the applicable legislation of each jurisdiction.

Where the applicable legislation makes entitlement to benefits conditional on the

completion of a specified number of insurance periods and the provisions of Article 16

do not apply, Article 17 provides that the competent institution shall take into account

CARICOM Social Security Agreement 235

all insurance periods completed under the applicable legislation of other Contracting

Parties to determine satisfaction of the qualifying conditions at the material time. Article

18 provides for the payment of a partial benefit on the satisfaction of specified conditions

and Article 19 provides for the apportionment of totalised benefits among the Contracting

Parties concerned.

CARICOM AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

The Contracting Parties:

Considering that one of the aims of the Caribbean Community is the fostering of

unity among its members by functional cooperation in the area of social security;

Recognising that harmonisation of the social security legislation of the Member

States of the Caribbean Community is one of the ways envisaged to promote functional

cooperation and regional unity;

Affirming the principles of equality of treatment for residents of the Contracting

Parties under their social security legislation, the maintenance of rights acquired or in

the course of acquisition, as well as the protection and maintenance of such rights

notwithstanding changes of residence among their respective territories - principles

which underlie several of the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation,

Have agreed as follows:

PART I - DEFINITIONS, SCOPE AND

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Definitions

1. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “benefit” means a periodical payment in cash in respect of the benefits

specified in Article 2, including any components thereof and such

increases, supplements or allowances as may be specified in the applicable

legislation, and payable for a period exceeding fifty-two weeks;

(b) “competent authority” means the Minister or other authority of a

Contracting Party charged with responsibility for social security;

(c) “competent institution” means -

(i) the institution with which the person concerned is insured when

claiming a benefit; or

(ii) the institution from which a claimant is entitled to receive, or would

be entitled to receive, a benefit if such a claimant were resident in the

territory of the Contracting Party where that institution is situated; or

(iii) the institution designated by the competent authority of the

Contracting Party concerned;