The Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) is again urging Barbadians at every stage of adulthood to begin planning for their retirement, warning that the island’s shrinking birthrate and growing elderly population pose urgent challenges for the future.
Speaking at the launch of BARP’s 30th anniversary programme of events at the organisation’s Marine Gardens, Christ Church, headquarters on Monday, BARP President Marilyn Rice-Bowen said too many citizens were entering their later years without adequate preparation.
“We are focusing on the fact that Barbados is an actively ageing society,” she said. “Your only source of funds for retirement should not be the NIS. You need to start your own plan, and the earlier the better. We also need to assist our members with their planning for retirement and where they want to go.”
Rice-Bowen warned that failure to plan could leave many seniors in difficult positions, especially when it comes to care in later life.
“There are some people who say they want to go into a nursing home, but if you have not prepared financially for it, that will just be a pipe dream,” she said. “As young people, you need to start to focus on retirement, start to look at where you want to be. Do you want to age in place? And if so, what do you need to do with your home?”
She noted that retirement was no longer a distant concept but a pressing reality. “As BARP, we are very passionate about preparing our members for retirement because retirement is real. The ageing process has sped up, and we are aware that the birthrate has declined.”
Citing projections, Rice-Bowen cautioned that by 2060, about a quarter of the Barbadian population will be over 70 years old. “We’re going to reach a point where we’ll have more seniors than young people,” she said. “It’s important that seniors plan and that you start to plan today.”
Alongside financial preparedness, BARP is also turning its attention to digital literacy, recognising the need for seniors to better navigate modern technology.
She noted that BARP has partnered with the Central Bank of Barbados to launch a major training programme in January that will equip members with both skills and tools to function in a digital economy.
(SB)
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