Beyond increasing pensions and reducing land tax payments for seniors, the Progressive Labour Party's mandate for the 2003 General Election did not promise much under the headline "Special Benefits For Seniors".

However, it was true to its word on the pension and land tax pledges.

The last pension increase of 4.5 percent, from August this year, saw the basic contributory pension rise from $826 to $863 per month.

Finance Minister Paula Cox said it was the seventh rise in the PLP's nine years in Government, compared with pension increases every two years during the 1990s. Meanwhile, seniors became exempt from paying land tax on January 1, 2005.

The only other items listed under "Special Benefits For Seniors" pointed to efforts which had already been made before the last election, including the introduction of HIP benefits for seniors and making defibrillators available across the Island.

Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Wayne Perinchief, the Cabinet member responsible for seniors, said other initiatives introduced in recent years included free transport for the elderly and enhanced benefits for veterans.

He said the PLP had not looked at seniors in an exclusionary way — instead attempting to help retain them in mainstream society as long as possible. Recreational and social initiatives have included seminars for seniors on issues such as nutrition and physical safety and Seniors Week.