Head of the SZV Reginald Willemsberg said in an invited comment that the APNA (AOV) payments to former civil servants residing on St. Maarten will not be made for the month of January 2012. Willemsberg said that St. Maarten took over the payments as of January 2012 but only recently an agreement was reached with APS and SZV. Willemsberg said that APS has decided they will not make the (AOV) payments and it should be done by SZV which according to Willemsberg is better for the department. He said that the recipients of APNA (AOV) pensions also have to sign a consent form so that SZV can process their pension payments. "SZV is busy calling everyone individually so that they can update their information. However, there are some persons who they cannot reach simply because there is no phone number in the system for them."
Willemsberg said persons that were receiving APNA (AOV and old age) pensions need to contact his office to update their information such as bank account numbers so that the payments can be made. The SZV head urged the APNA pension recipients to contact Rosalyn Antersjn at the SZV office as early as possible. An announcement he said will be published in the newspapers sometime this week.
In the meantime, APS has announced that they will be making their first pension payment for civil servants on January 20th 2012. A press release from APS states that the General Pension Fund of Sint Maarten (Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten), APS, is scheduled to make its first pension payments to those entitled to such on Friday, January 20. APS is working diligently with local banks to facilitate this payment. "We are proud to be taking this step forward and consider it an important milestone for our organization", says APS director Kendra Arnell.
Since October 10, 2010, Algemeen Pensioenfonds Curacao, APC (the former APNA), had continued to carry out pension payments on behalf of APS on the basis of a service level agreement between both parties. The agreement entails that as per December 31, 2011, pension payments would be transferred to APS. APS will be making pension payments on the basis of the same regulations as APNA, in the past.
Pension beneficiaries can expect to receive a statement with a breakdown of their pension by mail. The statement will provide information on the gross and net pension amount and on withholdings for wage tax, health insurance and other social premiums. The statement will look different but essentially conveys the same information as previous statements.
It is not anticipated that beneficiaries will see any changes in the pensions they receive. "We have been and are working closely with APC to ensure a seamless transition", says APS management.
APS was established by law as per October 10, 2010 when the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and Sint Maarten became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. APS is now responsible for the execution of the National Pension Fund Ordinance of Sint Maarten.
Persons who have questions pertaining to the payments can contact the APS by calling telephone number 543 00 03 or by email. The APS e-mail address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
