Tourism Workers Pension Fund Climbs to $5.3 Billion, Bartlett Reports in Sectoral Debate

Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, has disclosed that savings held under the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme have climbed to $5.3 billion.

He shared the update while addressing the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 23.

The scheme opened with a $1 billion injection from the Government. It is meant to give pension coverage to permanent, contract, and self-employed people working in tourism who are between 18 and 59 years old.

Eligibility reaches beyond hotel staff to workers in linked trades, among them craft vendors, tour operators, red cap porters, contract carriage operators, and employees at visitor attractions.

Mr. Bartlett said the fund's expansion and strong returns should allow a wider pool of hospitality workers to gain from the programme.

Registration has already passed the 10,000 mark.

"These numbers represent more than financial growth. They represent greater security, dignity, confidence of the people whose labour sustained Jamaica's tourism industry," he continued.

Workers who qualify and complete the five-year vesting period will start drawing benefits once they reach 65 or older.

"If you join at age 59 and you only have five years to contribute, you will get a pension the size of which you would have gotten if you had started at the first age of 18," the Minister said.