BPM Financial head urges Jamaica to lift pension contributions from 10% to 12%

Peta Rose Hall, Managing Director of BPM Financial, is pressing for higher retirement savings from both workers and employers across Jamaica.

Speaking on Monday during Radio Jamaica’s Real Business programme, Mrs Rose Hall said contributions to approved retirement schemes should move gradually from an average of 10 per cent of salary to 12 per cent. Under that plan, each side would put in six per cent.

She argued that even though tax relief can apply on contributions up to 20 per cent of an employee’s pay, today’s typical savings rate is too low to shield retirees from longevity risk—the danger that pension funds run out while a person is still alive.

Mrs Rose Hall also flagged weak uptake, noting that fewer than 20 per cent of Jamaica’s roughly 1.4 million workers are signed up to approved retirement schemes, deepening the national retirement savings gap.

She drew a parallel with the United Kingdom, where pension specialists are also pushing to raise the minimum contribution from eight per cent to 12 per cent of workers’ earnings.