A three-day workshop dubbed “Transitioning to Retirement” which was hosted by the Department of the Public Service recently, sought to impart vital information to public sector employees who are nearing retirement. The workshop is part of a bigger programme established in 2010, when it was recognized that most individuals had difficulty making the transition from work- life to retirement. Training Officer at the Department of the Public Service Training Division, Maria Mombelli, stated that the workshops offer not only invaluable information but practical recommendations to the participants.
“The Department of the Public Service has embarked on what I call a journey for the public servants where we offer this workshop. They come in where we discuss a number of topics, for example, Personal Banking, Budgeting, Calculating Retirement Benefits… as many of them want an idea of what they will receive at the end of their tenure with government,” Mombelli added.
Facilitators are drawn from the public and private sector. Some of which include the Ministry of Finance, The banking sector, the Small Enterprise Development Unit-SEDU and the Inland Revenue Department. According to Mombelli, “As we know at that point the salary is less and the commitment remains the same- your commitments are not reduced but your salary is reduced. How do you work with less salary and the same commitments? We also have doctors to talk to them about their nutrition because as you know as you reach this stage of your life you start having medical issues. We have a lawyer coming in to speak to them on how to prepare their Deeds and other legal documents…”
Ms. Mombelli ended by stating, “Retirement from a job is not retirement from life”.