SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Member of Parliament (MP) Francisco A. Lacroes has formally requested Government to provide a comprehensive assessment of Sint Maarten’s pension system, raising growing concerns about whether many pensioners are still able to meet the basic cost of living after retirement.
In a letter submitted to the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, MP Lacroes requested detailed financial, actuarial, demographic, and legal information related to both the pension structure administered through Social & Health Insurances SZV and the contributory pension system managed by Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten.
According to MP Lacroes, the request is not about attacking the current system, but about honestly assessing and aligning the reality pensioners are facing today. “We have people who worked their entire lives, contributed for decades, and now find themselves struggling with groceries, electricity, medication, and rent,” MP Lacroes stated.
“At some point, we have to ask ourselves a simple question. Is the system giving our people enough to live with dignity?”
The request seeks information on life expectancy trends, projected growth in the pensioner population, pension adequacy, actuarial sustainability, reserve levels, and the long-term feasibility of establishing a legally guaranteed minimum pension tied to the statutory minimum wage.
MP Lacroes explained that the issue becomes even more significant for lower income workers whose pension outcomes are directly tied to salary levels throughout their working lives, “Pension should not be less then our minimum wage”, he stated.
“The reality is that two people can contribute their whole lives and still retire into completely different situations because one earned less during their working years,” he said.
“This system may be functioning as designed, but we still have a responsibility to question and challenge whether the final outcome is enough for my people to survive.” The parliamentary request asks Government to assess what it would cost to ensure that pensioners do not fall below the minimum income level and whether additional Government support mechanisms may eventually be required, clarity on whether existing laws, including the Landsverordening Algemene Ouderdomsverzekering and the Landsverordening Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten, already provide mechanisms that can support stronger pension protections, or whether legislative amendments would ultimately be required.
Importantly, MP Lacroes emphasized that this process must be based on facts, data, and proper legal analysis before any policy direction is taken. “This is not about making promises before understanding the numbers,” he stated.
“This is about doing the work properly, understanding where we stand, and deciding what kind of country we want to be for the people who helped build it,” MP Lacroes concluded by stressing that retirement should not become a period of constant financial uncertainty for the elderly.
“At the end of the day, people are not asking for luxury. They are asking to live without fear after giving their lives to this country. If we cannot answer whether that is possible today, then we have a responsibility to start addressing it now.”
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