Franklyn

Two-thirds of Jamaicans of pensionable age are not qualified to receive pensions from the National Insurance Scheme, placing the country in a grouping of nations with the highest rate of non-contributors to social security schemes in the world, a government official has said.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Delano Franklyn, said Jamaica's position was due mainly to its large informal sector, which studies have shown runs at above 40 per cent of gross domestic product.

"Close to half of all economic activity in Jamaica is carried on in the informal sector (and) thousands will continue to become senior citizens with no social security, and therefore not benefit from the CSME," said Franklyn, speaking at a September 30 staff function of the Jamaica National Build-ing Society.

The single market aspect of the Cari-com Single Market and Economy is now in force. The agreement for the harmonisation of economies is expected to eventually allow unfettered movement of workers across island borders.

The 1997 CARICOM Agreement on Social Security allows for the transfer of pension scheme contributions between member states.

Jamaica's dilemma, said the senator, is that workers in the informal sector, who are not contributing to a pension scheme, will not be able to benefit from the entitlements available through the CSME.

Instead, they will have to rely on personal finances to support them during retirement.

"If those workers in the informal sector are not able to accumulate significant personal savings, many will be confined to a life of poverty and suffering in what is supposed to be their golden years," he said.

Franklyn said this state of affairs should not be allowed to continue, but did not say what strategies the administration was using to turn the situation around.

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