by BARRY ALLEYNE

NEITHER THE RESERVES of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) nor members of the force's special Sports Programme, will get a single cent from the recently released $24.5 million terminal grant.

But according to the BDF's public relations officer Captain Kurtley Archer, also staff assistant to the Chief of Staff, the BDF is investigating ways to provide a "special" pension plan for such personnel, who retire after June this year.

Archer revealed yesterday that the reservists and participants in the BDF's Sports Programme had been employed under completely different circumstances to regular soldiers, and could not have been even called out to duty should there be a national emergency.

Not enlisted

"They are not enlisted soldiers," Archer noted. "The reservists could not be called out under special circumstances, and the participants of the programme were employed and paid for specific educational and sporting training at our facility."

He said negotiations for a special pension for reservists and sports programme participants were at a very early stage.

The soldier said any such pensions would take some time to come to fruition anyway, since all pensions have a "vesting period" of three years before being accessible to claimants.

Barbados Defence Force personnel have to work at least three years before becoming eligible for pensions, but since the pension is a contributory one, those who retire before their tenure reaches three years would get such payments back with interest, after the vesting period.

Archer also stated that post June 2008, all pension claimants previously employed by the BDF would have to go through the normal protocol Government workers do when they retire from any state agency.

The $24.5 million grant became available two weeks ago, and so far, 595 former soldiers have collected their monies from the BDF's St Ann's Fort headquarters.

Of the 189 left to be paid, most are based outside of Barbados, mainly in the United States.

"The money isn't going anywhere. They can come and collect it anytime. There is no time limit involved," Captain Archer said.

He also noted that should cheques remain unclaimed within six months of them being issued, the BDF would have the responsibility of reissuing cheques, once the proper security protocol was followed.