Deputy PLP leader Derrick Burgess last night blasted the Government’s plan to freeze pensions as a “shameful attack on retirees”.

The Shadow Minister for Labour Relations and Seniors described the move as unacceptable when seniors were struggling with rising living costs.

“The OBA have once again demonstrated that shared sacrifice only applies to some Bermudians by freezing pensions for retired workers after raising fees on seniors. At the same time the OBA have given millions of dollars in tax handouts to business and certain employers,” Mr Burgess said.

“In many cases, these retirees worked hard in Bermuda for decades. To have pension payments frozen indefinitely by the OBA shows an insensitivity to their contributions and to their quality of life. Many are living on a fixed income, and their expenses continue to rise in the form of healthcare, groceries, electricity, and fees.”

Mr Burgess said that under the OBA, hospital costs for seniors had risen by 10 percent and that health insurance had gone up by eight percent.

He added that vehicle licensing and passport renewal fees had also been increased.

Finance Minister Bob Richards announced in the House of Assembly on Friday that pensions were set to be frozen at current levels for Government employees and MPs.

He said pensions were massively underfunded and that he intended to introduce legislation aimed at ending regular cost of living increases — the cost of living clause in the civil service pensions scheme adds about 23 percent to pension costs.

Mr Richards added that both the Government actuary and the SAGE Commission, set up to look at ways to cut the cost of Government, both recommended freezing pension payments.

The minister said the plan had been backed by the Pensions and Benefits Working Group — a claim Mr Burgess disputed.

“The OBA claimed that the Ministry of Finance and the Pension and Benefits Working Group formed under the Public Sector Reform are in support of this recommendation,” Mr Burgess said. “I have learned from the Trade Union Congress that this is in fact, not true. The OBA appears to have made this move without consultation and this is unacceptable.”

Mr Burgess described the pensions freeze as evidence of “the OBA’s continued detachment to the problems plaguing every day Bermudians”.

“An across-the-board pension freeze is an unacceptable move and all Bermudians should take note of this government’s shameful attack on retirees,” he added.

“[This] action makes it clear that Premier Dunkley and the OBA do not believe in shared sacrifice. They believe in sharing tax breaks with the private sector while inflicting sacrifice on middle-class Bermudians and our seniors.”