A business adviser has joined calls for Jersey to introduce a mandatory workplace pension scheme, warning there would otherwise be “a tsunami of underfunded pensioners in the future”.
Kevin Keen also highlighted the risks of an aging population as he warned “Jersey’s really lagging and that cannot continue”.
The UK has had such a scheme for more than a decade, while Guernsey introduced one last year – although workers can opt out.
Guernsey officials decided the minimum salary contribution is 1% from employers and 1.5% from employees. There are plans for that to rise to 3.5% and 6.5% respectively.
Jersey’s new government say that just 30% of all workers have access to a private or occupational pension.
Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham told ITV News that whilst he could not guarantee bringing in a mandatory scheme during the next administration, “it is something that will be on the agenda”.
1%
The minimum pension contribution for employers in Guernsey
Not everyone is on board with the plans. Some businesses say that costs are already too high and they are suffering from growing inflation.
Café owner Jo Baker told ITV News that 90% of his kitchen staff are not from Jersey and the majority have “no hope or expectation of ever retiring” in the island.
He said that while “he would love to sit down and work with people on it”, he “cannot see how it is applicable to hospitality”.
ITV News also spoke with several workers that have recently come to Jersey and they are focused on the short-term costs, not planning for events in the distant future.
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