KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Tourism Workers Pension Scheme that was launched in 2022 will soon have $1.5 billion in available benefits for the 8,000 tourism workers who have been contributing to the scheme.

To date, the workers have contributed $550 million to the scheme, while the Government has already paid $950 million of the $1 billion it committed to the fund.

This was revealed on Tuesday by the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett as he opened the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House.

He said the final tranche of $50 million from the government will be paid in the new fiscal year.

“The scheme is designed to cover all workers in the tourism sector regardless of their employment status or age, and it includes hotel workers, craft vendors, tour operators, red-cap porters, contract carriage operators and workers at attractions,” Bartlett noted.

“This means that all workers in the tourism industry can benefit from the scheme, regardless of their specific roles or responsibilities,” he said.

The minister said the anticipation is that with a wide pool of workers in the tourism industry, there could be up to 350,000 contributors to the scheme in the future.

“This includes workers in the cruise ship sector, who are also Jamaicans, and can continue to contribute to the pension plan when they return home to work in any area of the tourism industry,” he explained.

Bartlett shared that Fund Administrator, Guardian Life, will continue its public education programme and all-island recruitment drive.

He also said that “the pension pool of funds will represent, in the future, the largest pool of domestic savings that will be available for us for investment, and that is a catalyst for growth”.

“So, beyond the fact that it offers social security for the worker, it also provides a pool of capital for development in infrastructure, housing, and all sorts of other things in the country,” he added.