?SCORES of residents of St James have benefited from a seminar aimed at preparing them for retirement.

The retirement planning seminar, organised by the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC), was held on August 18 at the New Testament Church of God in Montego Bay.

Parish organiser for the NCSC, Merah Salmon, said the annual seminar is geared at sensitising persons on how to be better prepared for when they permanently leave the world of work.

“These seminars, carried out in all parishes across Jamaica, are geared towards educating persons, ages 18 to 50 years, on some of the things that can happen along the road if they are not properly prepared for retirement,” she said.

Salmon said persons are being encouraged to begin to contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), National Housing Trust (NHT), among others, so that in retirement they can receive attractive benefits, including assistance for burials.

She indicated that the NCSC, in addition to organising and carrying out the seminars, also undertakes ongoing training in entrepreneurial skills so that persons nearing retirement can supplement their income.

“By these activities, we are encouraging income security among these persons, so that when they are engaged in these training skills, they can sell their (products) and receive attractive income for themselves. Our responsibility is to pick up from where they are and teach them to do creative things with their hands,” Salmon said.

In her presentation, NIS Inspector, Charmaine Gillette, said that as long as a person is earning an income, that individual can and should be encouraged to contribute to the (NIS) as a means of preparing for his/her retirement.

The seminar was held under the theme: ‘On the road to retirement – Activate your action plan’ and involved participation from a number of government and private sector entities such as NHT, NIS, Inland Revenue, HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), Montego Cooperative Credit Union and Guardian Life.