Every year the determination of the amounts of contributions and benefits takes place in the Caribbean Netherlands. This is with regard to, amongst other things, the legal minimum hourly wage, The General Retirement Insurance (AOV), the Widow and Orphans Act General Insurance BES (AWW), the special relief, the child benefit and the maximum daily wage for the employee insurances. For practical reasons, one single regulation that will take effect as of the 1st of January 2017 has been opted for.
As in previous years different index numbers per public entity were opted for, with the exception of the indexing of amounts for those entitled to benefits, living outside the public entities. These amounts are based on the consumer price index number of the public entity Bonaire.
The indexing is based on the consumer price index number for the third quarter of 2016 as determined by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The development measured by the CBS is respectively +0.6% for Bonaire, -1.0% for Sint Eustatius and +0.2% for Saba.
Simultaneously with the indexing there is talk of a special adjustment of the legal minimum hourly wage and the AOV, AWW benefits and social relief based on decision making as a result of the income statistics published by the CBS. This applies only to Sint Eustatius and Saba. The income statistics for the time being do not allow for additional increase for Bonaire, because the development of the median income (which forms the basis thereof) is lagging on Bonaire. The special adjustment for Sint Eustatius is +10% (resulting in a total of +9% in connection with the 1% deflation) and for Saba +5.43% (resulting in a total of +5.63% in connection with the 0.2% inflation).
The gross minimum hourly wage is indexed for employees of 21 years of age and older. According to the Decree based on article 8, paragraph 2, of the The Minimum Wage Law BES (Wet minimumlonen BES),the minimum hourly wage of lower age groups is calculated as a percentage thereof (for 20-year-olds: 90%; for 19-year-olds; 85% for 18-year-olds: 75% and for 16- and 17-year-olds: 65%).
The premium percentages which are determined repeatedly for one year have remained unchanged compared to 2016.
The amounts will be published in the near future.
