KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government Senator Kavan Gayle is encouraging citizens to adequately plan for their retirement, which may be a prolonged period due to improved life expectancy.

He was participating in the debate in the Senate on Friday on a motion moved by Opposition Senator Dr Floyd Morris, regarding the establishment of specific legislation for the care and protection of senior citizens.

Speaking during the debate, Gayle said: “during our working life, we must prepare for retirement [which] must be seen as an important part of life. Whether retirement is 60 or 65, life expectancy has increased and so the period of retirement can be a lengthy one because…the gains in health and social development have contributed to the increasing years of life expectancy after retirement.”

He said preparing for retirement is more than having enough money, noting that people will also need to consider how they will occupy their time.

“It is often said that retirement is a time of rest and relaxation, but the reality is that for some that’s a myth. Many continue to contribute to Jamaica and its development. A great percentage of our senior citizens are very well and able to function, so retirement from a particular job does not mean and should not mean retirement for life; there is life after retirement,” he said.

The senator stressed that after retirement, seniors should not be disregarded and cast aside as invaluable, arguing that with their wealth of knowledge and experience, the elderly can continue to actively contribute to the country’s development.

“It is important that as a nation, we always identify ways to support and encourage the continued contribution of citizens in all aspects of life…they still can produce and it must not be seen as ‘bwoy your time come, you reach retirement age you must sit down now and hold your corner”, he said.

Gayle noted that there are many people who have reached retirement age who still want to contribute to the society and should be allowed to do so through the provision of opportunities that will allow seniors to have “meaningful choices regarding labour force participation and retirement”.

“I am of the view that not because you retire, it prohibits you from continuing to participate in the labour market where you would have had the institutional knowledge that you can [impart], that you can provide for others…so opportunities to facilitate and promote employment through retraining programmes are essential,” he said.

On that note, Gayle said the government, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC), has been helping to support the continued productivity of seniors including training opportunities.

“Seventy-eight entrepreneurial and skills training workshops were held with 4,629 seniors participating in 2020 to 2021. The workshops included container gardening… seedling care and strategies to boost farm yield; the skills workshops covered culinary arts, garment construction going through the pandemic – making face masks and even shopping bags; beekeeping, cake baking, soap making, castor oil production, and this was done with the support of both the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and the 4-H Club,” he said.

The NCSC works in collaboration with both international and local organisations to promote programmes which enhance the well-being of senior citizens, and part of those programmes help to shape national policies for seniors.