In the last budget, the government announced that people receiving the old age pension can now continue to work and earn as much money as they want and also enjoy the full pension benefit.

This measure encouraged people over 61 years not only to continue to give their contribution to the economy but also to remain actively involved for some more years and keep them in good health. The problem these people are coming across is that they have to pay tax on what they earn from their work, pay tax on what they earn from the pension and also have to pay the national insurance.

I can easily understand that one has to pay income tax but cannot understand why a pensioner receiving the government pension has to pay the national insurance contributions.

This is making the people receiving the government pension, who decide to continue to work for some more time, the heaviest taxed people on the island and unjustly paying the NI contributions for nothing, apart from providing another source of income for the government.

I appeal to the National Association of Pensioners to raise this matter with the Minister of Social Policy and the Minister of Finance so that this can be remedied in the shortest time possible.