Elder Affairs Minister defends pension age increase

The Government minister responsible for the elderly has defended the Mia Mottley-led administration’s proposal to increase the age at which Barbadians are eligible for a pension from the state.

Speaking at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) St James South branch meeting at West Terrace Primary School on Sunday, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey contended that moving the pensionable age from 67 to 67 ½ in 2028 and then to 68 in 2034 was necessary to secure the future of the country.

And he stressed that the Government did not intend to make the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) inaccessible to Barbadians.

“So the NIS conversation, as I understand it, is an important one. I mean, nobody wants to work for an additional year. It is an additional year. There is no retirement age in Barbados; you can retire whenever you want. You have a private plan and it says 60, and they give you a pension at 60; that’s your plan.

“Government’s pensionable age is now going to be 68 in the country, but right now it is 67 . . . . We are increasing it by only one year, and that one year is going to make a difference in the lives of Barbadians,” Humphrey said.

Last Friday, during a press conference, the President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood said the party was not in agreement with the planned increase in the pensionable age, announced by Minister of Labour Colin Jordan in Parliament on July 28.

The announcement had triggered an outcry from certain sections of society and led to a group of concerned residents marching in The City on Saturday to protest the proposed move.

Minister Humphrey, who reminded that Barbados is an ageing society, told the gathering at Sunday’s meeting: “We are approaching a point where the average Barbadian is 50-something, 60-something, which means that as we live longer, there are going to be less people working. It is called the dependency ratio – less people working and more people to support as they get older – and you have to find a way to be able to do it.”

He said the NIS could not be left to continue on its current trajectory.

“And if the Democratic Labour Party were still in office, believe what I am telling you, we would be dead. These changes weren’t forced on us yesterday; these were things we should have been considering years ago. And you can kick the can down a road, but only for so long,” Minister Humphrey contended.

(AH)