Monthly Archives: July 2021

JN Foundation Scholarship recipients from last year pose for a group photo.

The JN Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for students who participated in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and will attend school at the secondary level.

Seventeen students will be awarded under the two types of scholarships on offer – the JN Foundation PEP Parish (14) and JN Bank Easi-Save County Scholarships (3).

The deadline for the submission of application is Wednesday, July 28, and prospective applicants are invited to access the application form on the JN Foundation’s website at www.jnfoundation.com/jn-scholarships/ .

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must have completed the 2021 Primary Exit Profile and should not be a recipient of a government scholarship.

Other requirements are that applicant or parent must have a relationship with a JN Group member company for at least one year – either as a member/customer/client of JN Bank, JN Fund Managers, JNGI, JN Life Insurance, JNSBL, JAA or JN Money Services.

Only the biological parent or legal guardian can apply on behalf of the child, if the child is without an active JN Bank account.

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, said that the education of future generations is important to the future of Jamaica and the JN Foundation is happy to offer an opportunity to students to further their education.

“The JN Foundation is giving these scholarships to improve the lives of individuals and consequently their families and communities- this is one way The Jamaica National Group through the Foundation supports the positive dreams of our members,” she said.

The JN Foundation PEP Scholarships will be awarded to one recipient from each parish, while the JN Bank Easi-Save County Scholarship will go to one child from each county.  Scholarships are also available to children of employees of The Jamaica National Group. 

Concurrently, more than 100 other students, who are at various stages in their five-year scholarship award, had their scholarship renewed for the new school year.

Parris Lyew-Ayee (left), chairman of the JN Foundation and Novelette Denton-Prince (right), acting managing director, HEART/NSTA Trust sign a Memorandum of Understanding for academic programme enrichment, where the institution will offer courses in rain water harvesting and grey water recycling, developed by the JN Foundation’s Water Project Jamaica. The MoU was signed on Wednesday, July 7 at the JN Financial Centre Board Room on Belmont Road in Kingston. Sharing in the moment are Claudine Allen (standing at left), general manager of the JN Foundation and Kenesha Campbell, deputy managing director at the HEART/NSTA Trust.

The JN Foundation has forged a partnership with the HEART/National Service Training Agency (NSTA) Trust, which will facilitate students enrolled in the institution’s construction and plumbing programmes to be trained in Rain Water Harvesting and Grey Water Recycling.

The partnership was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the JN Foundation and the HEART/NSTA Trust on July 9 at the JN Financial Centre on Belmont Road in Kingston.

In signing the MoU, chairman of the JN Foundation, Parris A. Lyew-Ayee, Snr., said that the collaboration was a most welcome partnership for the JN Foundation.

“Like the HEART/NSTA Trust, the JN Foundation is also passionate about contributing to the developmental needs of Jamaica; and one of our focus areas is to improve environmental sustainability, and in particular addressing our water needs,” he said.

Mr. Lyew-Ayee noted that the JN Foundation believes that for Jamaica to be much more resilient to climate change, the subject of water management should also be institutionalised within its education system, and that is why this partnership is so important.

Novelette Denton-Prince, acting managing director, HEART/NSTA Trust, in welcoming the partnership, said the economic and social shock brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a collaborative and coordinated approach to overcome and rebound stronger.

“The agency has positioned itself to rise to the challenge and lend its corporate social responsibility efforts to being part of the solutions, to the issues brought about by this crisis,” she said.

She underscored that the JN Water Project is a much-needed project to address water management issues arising from climate change, which she said is a serious threat to sustainable development of Small Island Developing States, such as Jamaica.

“Having persons trained in these areas will improve their ability to apply their expertise and over time this will have positive benefits that will ultimately excite,” she said.

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation said water adaptation and climate change are issues which the Foundation is passionate about, and she is happy that HEART/NSTA Trust was receptive to the collaboration.

“I’m excited about this partnership and how it will be manifested in the HEART environment; in classrooms; and being able to one day find a certified plumber, who can come into my home, to show me how I can save on water, based on what they learned from the course,” she said.

The MoU will also enable for research to be conducted, particularly in the areas of sustainable development, climate change, energy efficiency and related areas associated with water, housing, and land management. This would include drainage systems, natural storage of water; and irrigation techniques which would mitigate both drought and flooding problems.

This is the second MoU being signed by the project with an institution. Earlier this year, the JN Foundation signed a MoU with University of Technology, to train more persons in water adaptation, as one of the solutions to address the country’s drought challenges.

The JN Foundation Water Project is a joint collaboration with the JN Bank, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Lab, to address water management issues related to climate change in Jamaica.

Rose Miller, grants manager at the JN Foundation and head of the JN BeWi$e Financial Empowerment Programme, says there is a growing need for more senior citizens to be exposed to financial education programmes so that they can better plan for old age.

She noted that this is important as research shows that growing older doesn’t mean getting wiser when it comes to making sound financial decisions.

Mrs Miller noted that two separate studies in the United States found that older people gradually, but steadily lose their ability to make sound financial decisions as they age.

The studies were conducted by the Texas Tech University and the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College in 2015.

It was found that at a time when persons 60 years and older are responsible for managing their retirement assets and distributions, and making complicated decisions about their investments, insurance and pensions, many also face a decline in their mental performance.

According to the research, the ability to understand financial concepts and apply them properly peaks in the mid-50s and declines by one per cent per year after age 60.

Ironically, one study also found that confidence in financial decision making and investing ability remained constant or increased with age.

Mrs Miller noted that this was a cause for concern as declining aptitude and overconfidence is a bad combination and could spell trouble if seniors and their family members do not take precautionary measures, such as financial planning, and in some cases, hands-on assistance to avoid vulnerabilities and even abuse.

“A certain amount of cognitive decline is a normal process of aging, and while this decline will differ from person to person, acknowledging that your ability to make financial decisions, and generally manage your financial affairs, will decrease, is an important part of the retirement and financial planning process,” she advised.

The JN Foundation manager further said there is no need for senior citizens and their children to worry about their financial future in retirement if they have a sound and regularly reviewed financial plan.

“It is also critical that the person or persons responsible for the care and management of senior citizens be completely trustworthy to ensure they receive the full benefit of the provisions they have put in place for this season of their lives.”

Mrs Miller advised that older persons and their families will need to put a plan in place before it is too late.

Here are a few things to consider:

• The first step is to get help from a certified financial advisor. It’s important to find an advisor who is willing to put in the time and effort to make sure that you have a sensible retirement plan,” Mrs Miller said. Make sure to find an advisor who is willing to work with trusted family members and will facilitate the intergenerational aspect of family financial planning.
• Simplify your financial affairs by consolidating retirement plans that are scattered among financial providers. This will make it easier to track your investments. Also put your financial paperwork and data together, including passwords, and store them in a safe place where a trusted friend or family member has easy access in an emergency.
• It is also important for seniors to have that important discussion with their family to address their estate-planning needs before it becomes an issue. Think about who will take over managing your finances, pay bills, file tax returns, handle investments, insurance and make medical decisions on your behalf. “Most often this is a family member and getting them involved early in the process to finalise advance planning tools, such as powers of attorney, will/trust, beneficiary designations, healthcare power of attorney, as well as helping the parent with decisions will provide peace of mind for all, and create a plan that will not only survive the normal process of aging, but ensure that during this time the needs of the senior citizen is being well managed,” Mrs Miller recommended.