All Bermudians and permanent residents would be guaranteed a minimum pension worth 70 percent of the median income, under the terms of a radically reformed pensions system being proposed to the SAGE Commission.Doctoral candidate Jonathan Starling's proposal would also give lower income (earning no more than $70,000) public sector workers the right to retire at 60, five years earlier than their higher income colleagues, but all would have the option to continue working for ten years past their normal retirement age.At least 60 percent of the public pension fund's investments would be in minimal risk vehicles such as government bonds, with the balance to be invested in socially responsible investments (SRIs).Mr Starling's submission outlines a Citizen's Pension which would top up existing pensions to the minimum level of 70 percent of the national median income.Based on the latest figures, senior citizens would have an annual income of at least $41,554.80 — a substantial increase over the current average pension of around $15,000.Pensioners would be allowed to opt-out of the Citizen's Pension should their private pension be sufficient, but would be allowed to opt in later.And those pensioners entitled to a pension greater than the minimum will have the excess funded by their own pension scheme, allowing the non-Citizen Pension fund scope for greater sustainability.Mr Starling proposes that the Citizen's Pension be funded by a legislated People's Providential Fund itself funded by dividend bearing shares of Bermuda companies.“At the end of every financial year every public company listed in Bermuda, with the exception of small businesses, to issue shares worth ten percent of their annual profits to a People's Providential Fund,” Mr Starling writes.“Private corporations and partnerships may issue profits-related bonds instead of shares.”And, he writes, the PPF would be required to hold the shares for at least a decade to grow dividend income and invest in bonds and infrastructure projects.“The PPF will be mandated to invest its funds (raised primarily from dividends as outlined above), with its funding being directed to education infrastructure, healthcare infrastructure, social housing (including seniors care homes), sustainable energy systems, sustainable water systems (including sewage and its treatment), ecological restoration, traffic systems, public amenities and government office buildings.“In addition to assisting the State in providing infrastructure, the PPF may also provide similar services to charities.“In doing this, the PPF operates in relation to the government similar to a P3 (public private partnership)”.Mr Starling is confident that his model is not only viable but also addresses racial and gender inequities in the current system.“It provides our seniors with a pension on which they can live on, and continue to be active participants in our community, rather than dependents,” the submission concludes.“Additionally, it helps reduce some of the inequalities that our current pension system reflects — notably it provides a Citizens Pension of 70% of the median wage regardless of race or sex.“The existing pension system sees Black Bermudians receiving a lower pension than White Bermudians, while Male Bermudians receive a substantially greater pension than Female Bermudians (the sex difference being greater than the racial difference).“While there are a number of factors that cause these discrepancies (structural racism and structural sexism, historic and/or present), the fact remains that they exist.“The 'greying' of our society, along with the threats of global climate change, represent perhaps the greatest challenges to our society in this century.“They will, no doubt, come to increasingly dominate our collective discourse over the coming decades.”With unfunded liabilities of $2 billion the Contributory Pension Fund is at a crisis point.Unless changes are made, it will not be paying out a pension to people 37 years and younger when they reach the schemes retirement age of 65, according to the SAGE Commission.The Public Service Superannuation Fund for civil servants is unfunded to the tune of just under $1 billion, meaning civil servants 27 years old and younger are in jeopardy of not receiving a pension unless government levies extra taxes or changes the pension scheme.Mr Starling, an independent candidate in last year's general election, is a doctoral student at the Edinburgh University.His dissertation topic is “The Ecology of Justice — Class and Power in Edinburgh's Urban Forest”.He provided his submission to SAGE at our request.“Pensions, along with healthcare, are an increasingly important issue for Bermuda, with our seniors already largely at risk of poverty — and there is a racial aspect to senior inequalities as well,” he said yesterday.“We need to have a wide-ranging and informed discussion on these issues, but we also need to be aware that shifts to defined contribution schemes, and the further privatisation of pensions, generally lead to even greater senior inequalities — there are, however, progressive alternatives, despite the pro-privatisation rhetoric from some quarters.'Go to www.theroyalgazette.com to view the submission in full.