Governor John P. de Jongh Jr. announced that on Monday, Aug. 23, roughly 6,000 retirees of the Virgin Islands government will receive bonus payments. The bonus payments are made possible through a $2.27 million contribution from the Virgin Islands Lottery.
“I am pleased that once again this year these bonuses can be provided to our retirees as part of our commitment to the territory’s retired citizens and to their quality of life,” de Jongh said. The governor added that direct deposits of the bonus payments will take place later tonight and each retiree is slated to receive $285.46.
The payment is part of an annual 3.5 percent pension bonus and was the result of an initiative by Senator Carlton Dowe. The senator’s legislation mandates that the V.I. Lottery transfer $2.27 million each year from its net collections as a funding source. The governor signed the legislation into law in June of 2009.
The annual payment aims to give retirees living on fixed incomes a little more flexibility, helping them to offset the rising cost of living in the territory. “For our retirees who are living check to check, there is little recourse but to hope for the best. We owe it to our elders to find ways to ease their financial strain and improve their standard of life,” de Jongh said.