Dear Claudienne

As soon as I turned 55 on March 13, 2014 I started the paperwork for early retirement from the Ministry of Education (MOE). I mailed a copy of the application for retirement from the USA to the salaries section of the MOE.

When the MOE did not respond, I reached out to friends and co-workers in Jamaica. I also reached out to my sister, a teacher in Jamaica, and she started the footwork on my behalf.

When the MOE told my sister that my files could not be located, she offered to help with the search. However, they did not accept her offer.

Since summer of 2016 and 2017 whenever I visit Jamaica I have gone to the MOE but to no avail.

In the summer of 2017 I visited the salaries department of the MOE and was told the file was in the Pensions section of the MOE.

To me, it appeared that everything was ok and that I would have been able to sign the final documents before the MOE sent them to the Pensions Department at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for the processing of my pension benefits.

However, the officer dealing with my file was not in office on the day I went to the MOE. When I called and spoke to the officer in September she informed me that the letter from Craighead School was not on my file. The officer gave me the e-mail address for the Principal at Craighead and after I contacted her she sent the information to the MOE in September 2017.

Since then I have called the MOE Pensions Department at least twice per month and each time I have been told that the supervisor has my files. They have also promised to inform me by e-mail when the final documents would be ready.

I also gave permission for the MOE to give the documents that I will need to sign to my sister — who is a teacher and who will mail them to me — to expedite the process to get to the MOF.

The schools in Jamaica where I taught are: Craighead from September 1978 to August 1979, Kemps Hill High from September 1982 to December 1982. May Pen Secondary — now Central High — from January 1983 to August 1983 and May Pen Primary from September 1983 to August 2002. I went on four months’ no pay leave and then resigned in December 2002, and I now reside in the USA.

I would appreciate any assistance you can afford me to get an early resolution to this problem.

SHW

Dear SHW

Since you wrote to Tell Claudienne in April 2018 we have been in communication with the Ministry of Education about your application for pension benefits. The MOE told us Tuesday, July 3 that the Pensions Department has now finalised the processing of your pension claim. Please note that you will have to sign the documents before the MOE sends them to the Ministry of Finance Pensions Department for your benefits to be calculated.

Tell Claudienne has given you a phone number to call to make the arrangements for the documents to be sent to you.

We wish you all the best.