Pension portability allows a member to preserve the actuarial value of accrued pension rights when moving from one job to the next.
However, portability in our legislation only relates to movement between plans established in Jamaica.
A key consideration which will be of increasing importance is the portability of private pension benefits across borders as individuals move from employer to employer in different countries or within a single firm operating in different territories.
As early as 1996, all Caricom member countries, save for Suriname, signed the Agreement on Social Security. This Agreement provides for the portability of select pension rights for workers moving between Caricom member states.
There are also bilateral agreements between the United Kingdom (UK) and Jamaica, and Canada and Jamaica in respect of portability of social security benefits. There is no agreement between the United States and Jamaica, which is particularly significant since the US is by far the main destination of Jamaican migrants.
These agreements, which are all positive and beneficial, predated the passage of the Pensions Act. They only address the movement of social security entitlements (NIS) arising from government sponsored programmes, such as the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). And only the bilateral agreements between the UK and Jamaica and Canada and Jamaica have been incorporated into domestic legislation.
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