Small-Ferguson urges Gov’t to pursue indexation reform to protect purchasing power of pensioners

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition Senator Ramon Small-Ferguson is urging the Government to pursue “properly designed indexation reform” to protect the purchasing power of pensioners over time.

Small-Ferguson said that in doing so, careful attention should be paid to sustainability, and without presuming any particular formula or guaranteed increase.

He made the comments in the Senate on Friday while contributing to the debate on the Pensions (Superannuation Funds and Retirement Schemes) (Investment) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026. He said it was time to move from investment diversification to pension inclusion.

Small-Ferguson, who is also chief executive officer at Barita Investments Limited, noted that the issue of indexation was particularly relevant at this time. He pointed to the latest update last week from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica which reported annual inflation of 8.6 per cent in September 2026. He cited that this was up from 7.9 per cent in August, and above the Bank of Jamaica’s target range of 4 to 6 per cent.

“When a pension remains fixed while food, medication, utilities and transport become more expensive, retirees must buy less, postpone essentials or rely more heavily on family,” Small-Ferguson remarked.

He pointed to another alarming trend in Jamaica’s pensions industry by highlighting the Financial Service Commission’s (FSC) March 2026 consultation paper entitled, ‘Deepening Pension Adequacy and Coverage’. It shows that contributors to public and private pension arrangements, excluding the National Insurance Scheme, represented less than 20 per cent of the employed labour force at the end of 2025.

Small-Ferguson told the Parliament that international figures illustrate what wider pension participation can look like with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that 56 per cent of civilian workers participated in employer-sponsored retirement arrangements in March 2026. The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics reports that 82 per cent of employees belonged to workplace pension schemes in 2024, while in Costa Rica, the OECD’s Pensions at a Glance 2025 reports membership in mandatory-funded pension arrangements equivalent to 91.2 per cent of the working-age population in 2024.

“These experiences should encourage us to set a higher ambition for Jamaica, giving far more working people the opportunity to accumulate retirement assets of their own,” Small-Ferguson said.

As part of the solution, he said greater effort should be made to reach underserved groups as expanding pension coverage “requires us to recognise the substantial differences in participation across industries and develop targeted approaches suited to how people in those sectors work and earn”. He pointed to the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme as an example of designing retirement provision around the circumstances of a particular industry, including permanent, contract and self-employed workers.

“It also demonstrates the sustained effort required to turn that approach into reality. Policy work was underway by 2010, Cabinet approved its establishment in 2015, and subsequent legislation and implementation culminated in its official launch in January 2022. That continuity across administrations and the persistence it took to bring the scheme to fruition deserve acknowledgement”.

According to Small-Ferguson, agriculture presents a compelling case. He pointed to FSC data which shows that in 2024, private pension participation stood at approximately 49.5 per cent in commerce and finance, compared with 4 per cent in manufacturing, 1.75 per cent in mining and construction, and just 0.58 per cent in agriculture.

“At fewer than one in every one hundred agricultural workers, that level of participation warrants a targeted response,” he stated. He recommended that the Government facilitates a pilot involving the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, farmers’ organisations, and existing approved retirement-scheme providers. “These familiar institutions could help farmers understand their options, enrol and contribute through payment arrangements that reflect the nuances of the sector, such as planting and harvest cycles, allowing farmers to put money aside when income comes in,” said Small-Ferguson.

He said this would provide a practical way to test whether existing relationships can bring more farmers into retirement saving, without creating another statutory scheme. “The experience could then guide a wider programme, informed by whether farmers join, sustain contributions and find the arrangements workable”. The Opposition lawmaker argued that “someone who has spent a lifetime feeding this country should have a fair opportunity to provide for the years when they can no longer work the land”.

He also made the case for “unpaid care” to be recognised, pointing out that pension inclusion must also take account of those who step away from paid employment to raise children, care for elderly relatives or support family members with disabilities. He noted that those years of service to their families can leave significant gaps in their retirement savings. He told the Senate that Australia offers a useful precedent that Jamaica could look to adopt.

The Opposition senator said lower-income workers could be encouraged to contribute if pension arrangements are more accessible and accompanied by attention to people’s ability to contribute.

“For lower income workers, putting money aside for retirement can be difficult when current earnings barely cover everyday needs. Government should therefore examine whether a modest matching contribution could help these workers begin saving through approved pension arrangements and sustain that effort over time,” He said any programme would need to be rigorously costed before a commitment is made, with clear income limits, a cap on support and a defined duration.

“As we have said in this Chamber before, when people reach retirement without sufficient income, their families often assume responsibility for supporting them. Children must find that money while raising their own families and preparing for their own futures. Where those resources are insufficient, pressure falls on the State”.

“Pension coverage therefore has consequences for household security, social protection and public finances. But behind those policy considerations are people who have worked hard. The woman who has spent 30 years caring for other people’s homes still has to meet her own expenses when she can no longer work. The construction worker still needs food, medication and somewhere safe to live when his body can no longer manage the job. We should help them prepare while they are earning and have time to accumulate assets,” Small-Ferguson implored.

-Lynford Simpson