BARBADOS IS an ageing society and it is always important to plan for changes in the life cycle and shifts in society.
Individuals need to plan as early as possible how they will address the myriad issues that will arise during their twilight years.
I would say some people are planning properly but many are not, as far as I can see. I’m not convinced it is across the board.
At the National Assistance Board five or six years ago we had a compulsory programme where we examined a range of subjects with each worker in the system before retirement and this is a programme that I believe ought to be replicated in every Government department.
I believe that through the Ministry of Human Resource Management it should become a mandatory programme; there ought to be a national policy.
Retirement planning should be part of every working environment. As soon as you enter the workforce, you should go through training.
It is said that you should start saving as soon as you start working, but even in the school system we need to develop a culture of advising and informing so that by the time you retire, it would not be seen as so dramatic.
When you talk about retirement you’re usually talking about people over 50, but planning has to start well before that.
For example, we’re now seeing the issue of obesity in young people and this is the time to redress this. We need to have healthy citizens throughout all age groups.
In addition, when you look at family life in Barbados you have to look at the dynamics that emerge. Families are not as integrated as they should be. It is the family that gives support in retirement and this has to start from early on. There are a significant number of people, men especially, who are left without emotional support during their retirement. This is usually because they neglected their families, who are therefore not around to care for them. Furthermore, they have no savings.
There is going to be a whole range of issues they have to face and we have to encourage the family to stick together.
You also need to pass on values and moral conduct as well as the need for investment planning to young people. On that note, family businesses should not die with retirement.
It has to do with how we train our offspring. We don’t often see the need to impress the importance of the family name on our children.
There is also an issue of people delaying housing acquisition until too late in life. Retirement is no time to be looking for somewhere to lay your head. Find housing as early in your working life as possible.
I understand that not everyone can do it at the same level, but people can consider a group effort and look at communal arrangements
When preparing for retirement, health, savings and family life should be on the front burner.
