Government has rolled out a new ad campaign to remind Bermuda?s young people that social insurance contributions can help them underwrite a ?blinging? lifestyle once they reach 65.

Finance Minister Paula Cox unveiled the media blitz ? with the first phase of the four-part campaign launching today in both print and broadcast media ? which features a young Bermudian driving the latest model convertible and adorned with ?bling bling? jewellery and the tagline ?Blinging at 65?.

?Think sex appeal. Think slamming. Think synergy with the young,? said Ms Cox of the first phase of DOCI?s new media campaign.

Both the print and televised campaign spots carry a message that social insurance contributions are key to maintaining a certain standard of living in old age.

But paying into the Contributory Pension Fund should not be the only way Bermudians plan financially for retirement, Department of Social Insurance (DOSI) Director Karen Daniels told

The highest payout that pensioners currently draw is, at a maximum, just over $1,000 a month. Recent reports put the number of Bermuda?s pensioners living in poverty at around 50 percent.

?This is not the be all and end all. This is not a means in isolation to be blinging at 65,? Ms Daniels said.

Currently there are some 8,750 pensioners receiving benefits through the Social Insurance programme, ranging in amounts from $767.43 per month to $1,015.48 per month.

The new advertisement campaign ? which is the first part of a multiphased approach to increasing employee and employer awareness of the rewards and responsibilities under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 ? targets those aged 16 to 35, in a bid to encourage early consideration of how to afford retirement.

?One day you?ll get old and DOSI will be there for you,? the print campaign says.

The Department of Social Insurance is responsible for the administration, collection and payment of social insurance contributions and pension benefits.

Both employees and employers are obligated by law to pay into the pension scheme, with contributions currently standing at $24.19 a week per employee and a matching payment due from employers.

The social insurance contribution is set to rise in August by 4.75 percent after a 3.5 percent increase in pension benefits for seniors.

The increase will push maximum pension benefits up to $1,061.06 per month for today?s pensioners.

As well, the campaign serves as a reminder to Bermuda employers and employees that they have a legal responsibility to pay into the social insurance fund. The campaign carries a hotline number to allow employees to check whether their contributions are being kept up to date.

Although the hotline goes through to an automated system, users can log their name and get a return call within one business day from a DOSI representative, Ms Cox said.

Online access details will be made available through a later, second phase of the media campaign. This will also make it possible for employees to check whether employers have turned over their contributions to DOSI, Ms Cox said.

She called this the ?soft aspect? in Government?s drive to make sure employers are keeping current with payments into the Contributory Pension Fund.

?This is all part of the initiative; there are different ways to kill the cat,? she said.

In 2004 delinquent employers together notched up a bill of $14.9 million in overdue pension contributions, according to a report from Auditor General Larry Dennis released in May.

The mounting debt, up from $9.2 million a year earlier, led to Government setting up a Debt Enforcement Unit dedicated to helping the Tax Commissioner and the Director of Social Insurance chase after delinquents with ?effective legal support?.

Later aspects of the DOSI media campaign will includes spots targeted at employers and senior citizens, including a segment highlighting benefits that widows and widower?s may be due as part of the pension scheme.

The fourth and final phase of the campaign will highlight the availability and affordability of the Government?s Health Insurance Plan (HIP), which Ms Cox said was administered by DOSI as an affordable health insurance option for many Bermudians.

A response to a question on the cost of the DOSI media campaign, which was produced by Elmore Warren?s Fresh Solutions, had not been received by Press time last night.