Social Security Ministry Reaffirms Commitment to Support Senior Citizens

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Jamaica’s senior citizens.

“We are committed to ensuring that we work to engage and to create an environment that will allow for our senior citizens to live and to participate in a society that respects them, that values them, that guarantees their rights, that ensures that we promote their responsibilities and that we facilitate enjoyment of a life that is fulfilling, healthy and secure,” said Portfolio Minister, Pearnel Charles Jr.

He was addressing the launch of Senior Citizens Month on Wednesday (September 4), at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, under the theme ‘Promoting Healthy, Active, Productive Ageing’.

Mr. Charles Jr. further shared that the Ministry is committed to making sure that seniors continue to have access to health services and benefit from the services of the National Health Fund, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and the Social Pension Programme.

The Minister also encouraged Jamaicans to support the elderly by visiting or calling on them.

“Throughout this month and beyond, let us pay tribute to the seniors who have served. Let us renew our commitment again to creating the environments at our home, at our workplaces, churches and in our communities to support the people growing older, being healthy, active and productive,” he urged.

For her part, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Collette Roberts Risden, underscored that seniors are the pillars of communities, the keepers of history and the guides for Jamaica’s future.

She shared that the theme is not just a tagline but a call to action, as Jamaica is at a pivotal moment with seniors being the fastest-growing segment of the population.

“It is a reflection of our commitment and our shared responsibility to ensure that every senior in Jamaica lives a life filled with purpose, health and dignity. This reality presents us with a challenge but more importantly with an opportunity to reimagine how we care for and empower our elders,” Mrs. Roberts Risden said.

She added that the Ministry will make every effort to ensure that Jamaica is not only a place of choice for seniors to live, but where they can truly thrive and retire.