After 45 years of service, Beverley Marshall has left the National Insurance Department.
Marshall said farewell to the unit last month during a special function at the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) headquarters in Lower Collymore Rock, St Michael.
She started working at the National Insurance Department fresh out of The St Michael School in 1972 as a clerical officer and left the unit as assistant director for customer service.
As colleagues turned out to wish her farewell, Marshall had a special message for the younger generation as they came through the workforce.
“We have a slogan National Insurance Is More Than A Contribution; It’s Your Lifeline.
“To some people, it’s just a slogan. I really want it to be a reality. They should live it, improve our customer service and be kind. We have to realise that the pensioners built the scheme to where it is today,” she added.
An emotional Marshall said she was not expecting the retirement function, adding that it was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, NIS deputy director Jennifer Hunte described Marshall’s retirement as bittersweet.
Hunte said she’d miss the retiring Marshall, who was an inspiration to many of the staff members as she came from school and worked her way through the ranks.
In a subsequent interview with the DAILY NATION, the 63-year-old Marshall said she had noticed a decline in attitudes during her four decades with the agency.
When she entered the workforce, Marshall said, people were a lot friendlier and more family-oriented.
However, as time went by, the NIS veteran said those attitudes had shifted for reasons she could not understand.
“I find we aren’t as caring as we were when I first started. People were more helpful, we were more together. Now we’ve changed,” the Grazettes, St Michael resident said.
“I try to get it figured out. I don’t know; I think it’s just the attitude. I don’t think it’s only NIS; I think it’s through the whole system . . . People have bad attitudes,” she continued.
Despite the changing times and attitudes, Marshall said she still believed the NIS was on the right track.
“I find that National Insurance was always ahead of the game. We always did things and updated our computer system so we could serve the public better,” she said.
“I just want them to keep on improving and doing a good job,” she said. (AD)
