PHILIPSBURG— The Minister of Public Health, Social
Development and Labor, Omar Ottley informs the public, that
due to technical problems with the establishment of the
Consumer Price Index (CPI), the AOV (Old-age pension) and
AWW (Widow- and Orphan Insurance) will not be assessed in
time to be indexed per January 1, 2022.
Annually, in accordance with the legislation, the amounts of
AOV and AWW are adjusted on the basis of an increase in the
CPI of the current year compared to the previous year. The CPI
is determined by the Statistics Department.
In consultation with my colleague, the Minister of TEATT, it has
been established that the CPI cannot be determined due to
technical problems with the new calculation system, and this has
led to a delay in obtaining the CPI for 2021.
The CPI will not be available until the first quarter of
2022. “This means that my Ministry is not able to assess if there
is an increase in the CPI, in order to index the amounts of AOV
and AWW as of January 1, 2022.
As the Minister responsible for the indexation of the AOV and
AWW amounts, I deeply regret this situation.” The intention is
that once the CPI is provided by the Statistics Department, the
necessary indexation will occur retroactively.