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NIB sickness ( PDF )

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SicknessBenefit Invalidity Benefit Revised 3/11 ---------'

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SicknessBenefit"You NeverKnowwhereSickness Is.// Sickness Benefitisa payment made weeklytoeligible in sured personswhoare temporarily unabletoworkandsoloseemploymentincome becauseofillness. Itispaid at a weekly rateof60percentofyour average weekly insur able wageorincomeforthe period in whichyourqualify ing conditions were satisfied. The minimum paymentforSickness Benefitis$66.42per week, and the maximumis$300per week(asofJanuary1, 2011).Sickness Benefitisnotpaidforillness caused bythehabitualuseofalcoholordrugsotherthan those prescribed specifically by a medical practitioner.TOQUALIFYFORSICKNESSBENEFITa person mustbeemployed on the day of,oron the daypriortoonsetofillness. Additionally, he/she must satisfytwocontribution conditions:.:.He/she must have paid at least40contributionsintotheNational Insurance Programme sinceitstartedin1974;AND.:.He/she must have paidand/orbeen creditedwithat least: i)13contributions in the26weeks immediately before the week the illness started;ORii)26contributions in the52contribution weeks immediately before the week the illness started;ORii)26contributionsintheimmediatepreceding contributionyear.TOCLAIMSICKNESSBENEFITyou mustbeexamined by a medicaldoctorassoonaspossible after you become ill, and have thedoctorcomplete page oneofthe medical certificateofincapacity(MedI).Youwill havetocom plete pagestwoand threeofthe same form. Claims byemployedpersonsforSicknessBenefitmustbe accompanied by a Med4-theEmployers Certificationform on which the employer confirmsanemployee'stimeofffromwork. The claim willnotbeprocessedwithoutit. CLAIMS SHOULDBESENTINtoNIB nolaterthansixmonthsafterthe first daythattheillness began. A delayofmore thansixmonthscanresult in the delayorlossofbenefit.THEFIRSTDAYOFYOURSICKNESSBENEFITCLAIMPERIODisthe dayaftertheday on which you stopped work.Intheevent youseethedoctoronthatday, yourdoctorshould factor inthatday,when computing your periodofincapacity (e.g.,ifyou fall ill while atworkon a Monday, and gotoseethedoctoron Tuesday, the doctor,ifitishis/ her intended prognosisthatyou wouldbefittoreturntoworkthe following Saturday, should give youfourdays off, andnotthree days off). Persons in New Providence and Grand Bahama, mustseeadoctorwithin7daysofstop ping work;forpersonsintheotherFamily Islands, this periodisextendedtofour(4)weeks.Inallcases,personswhoare unabletoseeadoctorright away, must explain inwritingthe reason for the delay.Ifyou become ill whiletemporarilyunemployedoron va cation, then the first dayofyour Sickness Benefit claim periodistheday on which you are examined by a doctor. Sickness Benefitisnotpaidforthe first three daysofa claim period called"waiting days"SICKNESSBENEFITCANBEPAIDforupto156daysor26weeks.Itcanbeextendedanadditional 84 days uptoa maximum240daysor40weeks -ifthe Board's Medical Officerissatisfiedthatyour healthislikelytoimprovewithadditional medicaltreatment.Ifat the endofthis addi tional period you are still incapableofwork, you will again needtobeexamined by a doctor;ifyou are foundtobepermanently incapableofwork, youcanclaim Invalidity Benefit.PAYMENTOFSICKNESSBENEFITWILLSTOPIF:.:.you do anyworkforwhich you are paid;.:.you fail,withoutgood reason,toattendforanex aminationorundergo specifictreatmentthatmayberequired by the Board;.:.you gotoprison,orare detainedinlegal custody;or.:.you become incapableofwork through your own neg ligenceormisconduct.Invalidity BenefitIiFor Your 'Rainy Day'//Invalidity Benefitisa payment madetoeligible insured personswhohave been certified by a medicaldoctortobepermanently unabletoworkasa resultofanillnessthatisnotjob-related.(Aperson suffering permanent incapacityasa resultofa job-related illness, should claimDisablementBenefit.)TOQUALIFYFORINVALIDITYBENEFIT,a person must have paid at least150contributionsintothe l\Jationallnsurance Programme sinceitstartedin1974.THERATEOFPAYMENTFORINVALIDITYBENEFITrangesfroma minimumoffifteen percent(15%)toa maximumof

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sixty percent (60%)oftheinsured person's average weekly insurable wageorincome. TheminimumInvalidity Benefit payable(asofJanuary1,2011),is$287.82.CLAIMS SHOULDBESENT INtoNIBno later thanthreemonthsafter the diagnosis by your doctor. A delayofmore than three monthscanresult inthedelay orlossofbenefit.INVALIDITY BENEFITISPAIDasamonthlypension. All recipientsofInvalidityBenefit (Withtheexceptionofpersons who live on Bahamian islands where there are no banks) are requiredtohavetheirmonthlypayments senttobanksoftheirchoice in The Bahamas. Payments may alsobesenttoaccounts atthePost Office Bank, whichhasbranches around the country. Persons who live on islands where there are no banks, may collect their monthly cheques from their nearest local office. Pensioners who live abroad may applytoanyoneofthecommercial banks in The Bahamastoopenanaccountforthe express purposeofdepositingmonthlycheques.FURTHER INFORMATION CHANGEOFCIRCUMSTANCESNotifytheDirector, in writing,assoonaspossible after the awardofthebenefitifyou recover sufficientlytobeabletoresumeworkasanemployedorself-employed person.VERIFICATIONOnce you are in receiptofInvalidity Benefit, you must produce evidenceofyour continuing righttothe benefit.Suchverificationmust take place during your birth month and exactlysixmonths thereafter.Your payments will stopifyou failtobeverifiedasindicated.Tobe verified, visitanyoneofNIB'sLocalOfficeswithyour passportorvoter's card, and your National Insurance card. Or have theNIBVerification Form duly notarized by asanctionedauthorityandreturnedtothePension Verification Departmentinthe New ProvidenceLocalOffice. A"Sanctioned Autority.." isanOfficeroftheNational In surance Board; CounselorAttorneyoftheSupreme Court; a Public Officer abovetherankofAssistant HeadofDepartment;anordainedMinisterofReligion; a Bank Manager; Magistrate;orJusticeofthePeace,whoisnota memberofyour immediate family. For pensionerswholive outside The Bahamas, asanctionedauthoritymay also be a Notary Public, a Lawyer,ora ChiefofPolice.RIGHTOFApPEALIf you disagreewithany decision made on your claimforSickness or Invalidity Benefit and have evidenceastowhy the decision shouldbeoverturned, youcanappeal in writingtothe nearestLocalOfficewithin21daysofthedate youwerenotifiedofthedecision. Appeals are heard and decided by a panelofthree independent practitioners.PENALTIESAny person who,forthepurposeofobtaining a benefit under the National Insurance Act,eitherforhimself or someotherperson, makes any false statement or false repre sentation,orproduces any false documents, etc, shallbeliabletoa finenotexceeding $2,500,ortoimprisonmentforuptotwelve months,orboth.THENATIONALINSURANCEACTThis leaflet gives basic informationonInvalidity Benefit;forfurtherdetails on this or anyotherprovisionsofourSocial Security Programme, please refertotheNational InsuranceAct(Chapter 320)StatuteLawsofThe Bahamas.