ALLAN McPherson contributed to the Government’s pension scheme for his entire 27 years as a correctional officer with the belief that the funds would allow him to care for himself and his family when he retired.

But that has not been the case as the $30,000 he now receives monthly can barely cover his expenses, forcing the 66-year-old to rely heavily on his children to fill the gap.

Explaining how the $30,000 is spent each month, McPherson says the grocery bill eats up a major chunk –all of $12,000 –given the rising food prices. And, there is the electricity bill which takes up another $5,000 to $7,000, while $6,000 is used to purchase petrol for his motor vehicle, and another $2,000 for cooking gas.

“So when mi done with those basic things, you can see fi yourself seh nutten much nuh lef’,” he told to the Jamaica Observer. “It is still hard to survive on that considering that I have some of the same bills ah use to have when me was working and getting me full pay.”

McPherson, who lives in Islington, St Mary, said when he first started getting his pension it was only $24,000 for the month, but the figure gradually increased to the current amount. But while he is grateful for the additional $6,000, McPherson said this increase has not made much of a difference since it has been absorbed by inflation.

In addition, McPherson said he was forced to live without an income for some time as it took some four years before he started receiving his pension.

“In Jamaica, it is so hard to get anything because I have been back and forth trying to get my NIS (National Insurance Scheme) benefits and all now, nutten,” he informed. According to McPherson, he completed the forms eight months before his 65th birthday, which is when he became eligible for the NIS benefit. But nearly two years later, the former prison warden said he is yet to receive an update on the status of his application.

He said he has been assured that the money will be paid retroactively, but this is little comfort as he needs it now.

Like so many other pensioners across the country McPherson said he has relied heavily on his adult children who are living overseas.

“Is a lot ah people in Jamaica living on money transfer and if that ever cut off mi sorry for us because is my children abroad me haffi depend on,” he said.

McPherson said as one who worked tirelessly through the years and paid his taxes, he should not have to rely so heavily on the benevolence of others.

He, however, argued that one of Jamaica’s biggest problems is that too little people are employed to support those who are not.

“In slavery days it was the majority who worked to help the minority, but now it is the other way round,” he said.

He said although he was introduced to all the other options of saving for his retirement, his salary did not make it possible for him to prepare any better for the twilight years.

“The salary was still so small that I couldn’t put away anything else because I had all that expense for the kids who were going to school plus me had to pay back credit union for the loan fi the house, so ah never had much left to save for anything else,” he said.

However, McPherson said he would encourage others to make preparation, other than the regular pension contribution, while they still have that earning power. His situation, he said, could have been so much more dire were it not for the support of his children and this, he argued, is not the case for many pensioners.

“Some pensioners not so lucky because dem have to still mind dem pickney and dem pickney pickney,” he argued.

And, living in rural Jamaica does not make life any easier for him as a pensioner, as he said there is no opportunity to earn additional income. Even renting a room on his house would prove a challenge because of the condition of roads in the area.

“If you even have a house to rent in Islington, people not interested because of how bad di road is,” he said.

He said the hilly terrain also rules out farming as an option to make extra cash as it is difficult to get produce from the fields to the market.

“If yuh plant a banana and it shoot 10 hands, how yu get it out the bush to the road?” he questioned.

If you are a pensioner and would like to tell your story, contact Ingrid Brown at: browni@jamaicaobserver.com