Sagicor Says Goodbye
Published:Wednesday | May 20, 2015 | 11:55 AMDoran Dixon
Sagicor Group Jamaica recently said goodbye to 20 stalwart members of its family at a retirement luncheon held in honour of its 2014-2015 retirees. Held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, the luncheon was punctuated with bittersweet testimonials and memories.
According to the oldest serving retiree, Bruce Lyn, from the Sagicor Life Jamaica Group, the life of an insurance agent is the life well worth living.
He spoke at length about his adventures and the joy that can come from helping someone secure a future, "Helping someone to plan their future and then living to see how your advice helped them realise their dreams is an extremely satisfying feeling," he said as he expressed gratitude and pride at the confidence placed in him by his clients. It is a source of great pride for the immutable Lyn that his clients placed their trust and their lives in his capable hands.
new concept
Many of the honourees present at the luncheon were themselves shocked that they were being 'fired', which is how many retirees view this new and strange concept of not going to work. They were not alone in their grief, as co-workers expressed their sorrow at the idea of not seeing so many familiar faces flit around the office. Sagicor has apparently made their employees so comfortable, the idea of permanently going home scares them.
However, the retirees were reminded that retirement does not equal death; they were reminded by President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Byles that what people know as retirement is actually freedom disguised. He noted that this would be the first time in the life of the retirees that they would be allowed to do exactly as they pleased, with no professional obligations to distract them.
"Don't siddung and fossilise," were his words of wisdom and encouragement to the honourees. He advised them to discover their own country by visiting all the interesting places that they did not have the time to visit before they were pensioners, rather than just sit and grow roots. "There are so many beautiful places to see and visit," he said.
Byles was full of praise as he thanked the retirees for their years of service, which have contributed to the success of Sagicor Group, formerly known as Pan Caribbean Financial Services. "Thank you, thank you," he said, "because staff has made Sagicor what it is over the last 45 years."