Mr. Keithley Phillip, General Manager of the SWMC was featured speaker at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s Savings and Investment Course Cohort 16, held at the ECCB on Wednesday. Mr. Phillip, an experienced business manager, offered sound words of advice to the graduates on savings and retirement. “The bottom line is this: figuring out your retirement cash flow can be more complex than you might think. So it pays to sit down with your spouse; it pays to sit down with your family members and to carefully assess your options,” he told the graduates. “Retirement is drawing near for all of us. Your priority should be to make sure that your financial house is in order,” he added.

Mr. Phillip shared even from his personal experiences. “As a youngster, I worked here at the Central Bank. And the interesting thing is that I was able after a number of years to pay my way through university, by putting away a little bit. So instead of taking that fancy dinner, put it away towards your retirement. You may say I sound like a joy killer but remember I said earlier that your finances must be retirement ready,” Mr. Phillip said. Twenty eight persons graduated from the course at Wednesday’s graduation.

In 2003, the ECCB, in collaboration with local financial institutions, launched the ECCB Savings and Investments Course with the aim of enhancing the financial competence of the ECCU adult population. The sessions which are held once per week are designed to provide a platform for learning via class discussions and a series of individual and group exercises.