What’s the Update on Pension Reform?

Chris Coye

On Wednesday, the Joint Union Negotiating Team and the Government’s Negotiating team will meet to discuss the latest concerns and demands made by the unions. The unions have set a deadline to unfreeze increments by April first or else. But another complex issue that will be discussed is pension reform. The unions are in agreement that reform is necessary. At the last Gian Gandhi Memorial Lecture, an analysis presented revealed that the government’s pension scheme as it currently stands is unsustainable. The current pension bill per annum that government pays is roughly one hundred million dollars. Today we asked Minister Chris Coye for an update on pension reform.

Chris Coye, Minister of State, Finance

“The discussion is whether one, it becomes a contributor pension. I think nowhere in the Caribbean. I don’t know if in the world, but no, certainly nowhere in the Caribbean is the public pension non-contributory. Nowhere in the Caribbean is the retirement age fifty-five. It’s, significantly older than that. The replacement rate, I think the replacement rate is, when, when you combine social security and the public officer’s pension is almost a hundred percent. Again, that’s unprecedented in the entire Caribbean. The, the average is around fifty-one percent. The replacement rate, the highest would be, um, around let’s say sixty, sixty-six something percent. So it, it is anomalous the belief situation as far as public officers pension, but at the same time, you have to appreciate the historical situation as far as the existence. And hold, hold a transition to a contributory scheme would occur. And that, that involves, uh, that, that um, um, discussion between the parties to get an appreciation of what may be able to work.”