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JTA President La Sonja Harrison
The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) says some retired educators are struggling to make ends meet because they have to wait for a protracted period before receiving their pension payments.
JTA President La Sonja Harrison says some retired teachers have left the classroom more than 18 months ago and have not started receiving their pension payments.
Ms Harrison, who was a guest Tuesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, said some retirees have depleted their savings to offset their monthly expenses while they await the start of pension payments.
But she said others without savings to rely on have resorted to begging friends and relatives to buy food, medication and pay bills.
Many, she said, could not afford to own a home, so are still struggling with rent. Others who may have only been able to afford a home later in life are still paying their mortgages, and some also have car payments or are helping their children through tertiary education.
Ms Harrison reasoned that the delay in processing pension payments is sometimes because all relevant documents are not gathered and submitted, especially if the teacher did not work at just one school throughout their career.
She urged teachers to avoid this pitfall by keeping track of their documents.
Ms Harrison said the JTA hosts pre-retirement seminars each year to share tips and strategies with teachers on how to plan towards retirement and improve their outcomes.
But the JTA president called for changes to the government's pension scheme for public school teachers to speed up payment for retired educators.
She suggested a 90-day turnaround for all retired teachers to begin receiving their pension, as long as all their documents have been submitted.
"From the process is started and they submit the documents, they should get a tracking number, something of that sort that they are able to call and say...this is the number on my file and I'm asking you to give me an update as to where it is".
Ms Harrison said allowing teachers to be able to track their file would enable them or the JTA to more easily assist in the process, if necessary, so that the pension payments can be disbursed in the soonest possible time.
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