Do not delay in creating social security measures, says UWI principal - Jamaica Gleaner

WESTERN BUREAU:

DENSIL WILLIAMS, principal of The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, is recommending that measures be taken to maintain the Caribbean region’s sustainable economic growth and improve social security systems for the workforce, including to ensure that early retirees can enjoy their long-term savings.

Addressing Wednesday’s 31st meeting of the Heads of Caricom Social Security Organisations at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay, St James, Williams said that Caricom states cannot afford to delay putting measures in place for their citizens’ long-term economic stability just because the majority of their populations is below 40 years old.

“We take a look at the Caribbean today, and what we are seeing is a demographic structure that is calling for early intervention in order to secure our future with a strong social security system. The demographic data tells us that across our 15 Caricom states, we have about 19 million people tenanting these states, but almost one-third of that is between 40 to 60 years and above, so the naked eye will tell you that, indeed, we have a very young population,” said Williams.

“Here in Jamaica we see over 35 per cent of our population in the category of 40 years and above, the majority of countries such as Barbados, Antigua, and Dominica are hovering around 40 per cent of their population at 40 years and above, plus we see Montserrat looking at 56 per cent of its population at 40 years and above. When you disaggregate these statistics, what it really tells you is that we don’t have time on our hands in determining and starting to build a robust social security network,” Williams added.

“More of our people are living longer, but also retiring earlier, and therefore some form of mechanisms will need to be put in place to ensure that longevity does not become a burden on the state.”

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE

In March this year, Jamaica Employers’ Federation President David Wan called for the retirement age to be raised in order to address Jamaica’s chronic labour shortage. The current age of retirement is 65 years.

Prior to that, in 2021, the Registrar General’s Department developed a new Civil Registration Number designed to improve planning for social security and welfare programmes.

Williams also cautioned Wednesday’s meeting that the lack of a firmly rooted social security system may result in a demotivated workforce, which in turn could lead to criminal activity with a worse impact on society.

“Any nation that is really serious about development with a human face cannot escape building and maintaining a strong and resilient social security system. For without social security, the human capital will feel unappreciated, demotivated, and eventually unproductive. With all this, the nation suffers as we will have disgruntled citizens who will wreak havoc on land, and we will all suffer,” said Williams.

“Social security is as human as it is technical. Therefore, if we accept that premise that social security systems matter for human development, then the question becomes, ‘How do we build a social security system that will last and has at its core distributive justice’?” Williams added, “At the core of these social systems that we build, there ought to be the concept and precept of distributive justice, meaning everybody must benefit and not just a privileged few.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com

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Do not delay in creating social security measures, says UWI principal - Jamaica Gleaner
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