National survey to examine retirement preparedness

The Pension Industry Association of Jamaica (PIAJ) has commissioned a national survey aimed at building a clearer and more up-to-date picture of how Jamaicans save, prepare for retirement, and manage financially in later life.

The National Savings, Retirement Preparedness and Pensioner Welfare Survey, to be conducted by Market Research Services Limited (MRSL), will examine savings habits, income patterns, pension participation, retirement expectations and the financial circumstances of people already in retirement.

The initiative comes as policymakers and industry stakeholders grapple with questions of pension reform and retirement security, often with limited or outdated data at their disposal.

PIAJ president Sanya Goffe said a better understanding of Jamaicans’ financial behaviour is essential to shaping effective retirement policy.

“We have been having important discussions about pension reform, expanding pension coverage and improving retirement security, but those discussions need to be grounded in a much better understanding of how Jamaicans actually earn, save and think about retirement today. If we want to develop pension arrangements that Jamaicans are willing and able to participate in, and advocate for policy changes that respond to their circumstances, we have to understand their behaviour and the barriers they face. That is what we hope this research will help us to do.”

The study will go beyond measuring participation in pension schemes. Researchers will assess whether existing savings patterns are likely to provide adequate financial support in retirement and explore attitudes towards long-term saving.

The survey will also investigate why many people do not save consistently for retirement and what factors might encourage broader participation. Particular attention will be paid to self-employed individuals, informal-sector workers, and others whose income or employment arrangements do not fit neatly within traditional pension models.

Researchers will examine both the willingness and the capacity of these groups to participate in more flexible, lower-contribution retirement-savings schemes.

The findings are expected to provide PIAJ with current national data to support its advocacy for pension reform. They should also help the association’s members better understand the needs, attitudes and saving behaviours of the clients and communities they serve.

Goffe said the research would allow the industry to move beyond assumptions about Jamaicans’ retirement needs.

“There are policy questions to be addressed, but there are also questions about affordability, trust and the way people manage income from month to month. Having current data will put us in a much stronger position to contribute to reforms and to encourage the development of products that are responsive to people’s actual circumstances.”

MRSL will conduct face-to-face and computer-assisted interviews with a nationally representative sample drawn proportionately from all 14 parishes. Participants will be selected across a range of income levels, employment categories, and demographic groups.

Fieldwork is expected to be completed within the next three to four months, with the findings due to be released by January 2027.