As early as the first quarter of next year, individuals as young as 40 can be admitted as members to the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP).
This is as a result of a resolution to reduce the minimum joining age from 50 to 40 years. The resolution met some opposition, nonetheless was passed during the association’s annual general meeting held Monday night.
With an estimated 44,000 Barbadians falling in the 40-49 age group, President of BARP, Marilyn Rice-Bowen was optimistic that this category of people will take advantage of the opportunity to join BARP, increasing membership numbers.
Rice-Bowen, who was re-elected for a second term at the AGM, told Barbados TODAY the association was prompted to make the move to help younger people get better acquainted with planning for retirement.
“I would say what propelled us to move the resolution in the first place was that we recognized that quite a few of our members when they joined BARP at 50 were seeking retirement planning advice.
At 50/51, those kind of ages, it is generally [time] to commence a retirement plan. A retirement plan should be in place as early as your late 30s, if not 40s. So that you would have time and money on your side. and because those persons who plan for their retirement then they are assured of a financially-sound retirement period.Because once you prepare you are going to reap the rewards down the road,” she said.
Rice-Bowen noted that the other factor which influenced their decision was the recognition that there were quite a few young professionals, who are self-employed but have no health insurance.
With membership to BARP, one can secure access to discounts for a plethora of sectors but one of the most important benefits is access to their group healthcare plan. Rice-Bowen believed the change would be beneficial for both members and the association since the injection of funds into the health plan from a younger cohort would ensure the sustainability of the plan.
While she acknowledged that aging can be scary and that some at age 40-plus might be apprehensive about joining an association for retired persons, she encouraged young people to see it as a chance to access gain invaluable knowledge.
“Embrace it and walk in with confidence with the full knowledge that any guidance, support or such that you need you can get it within the organisation called BARP. We are a reservoir of knowledge . . . and we are prepared to share it with the younger persons,” Rice-Bowen said. (KC)
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