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19
I
n the early days of
retirement, the average
retiree might spend most of
his time at home relaxing
or engaging in his favourite
hobbies. It’s safe to say
then, that Richard Young
former Scotiabank Trinidad
Limited - Director and
Managing Director, is no
average retiree.
It was at the Trinidad
and Tobago International
Finance Centre
(TTIFC),Tower D,
International Waterfront
Centre that we found
Young, chairman of the
TTIFC, looking far from
retired in his crisp white
shirt and black slacks
sitting in his spacious
office.
Written by: Essiba Small
Young has spent 43
years of his life in the
financial services sector.
He was an auditor at
Price Waterhouse,
President of the Institute
of Chartered Accountants
of T&T (ICATT), and he
ran NEMWIL, the first
incarnation of Guardian
General Insurance, before
joining Scotiabank in 1993.
His time spent at each
organization over the years
has taught him a lot.
“Running a bank was very
stressful,” Young said.
“When I was at Price
Waterhouse, I was a
workaholic. At NEMWIL I
was most relaxed. It was
there that I realized the
importance of people in an
organization.
“When I got into banking
I learned that people only
called to give bad news.
At functions I used to meet
three children played
against us, the parents, or
against each other.”
Now that he is retired,
Young spends that
quality time with his five
grandchildren. “One of
the things I love to do is
to buy them snow cone
around the (Queen’s Park)
Savannah.”
Young also helps out his
son Stuart, the Honorable
Minister, at his Port of
Spain North/St Ann’s West
constituency office. He
joked that although he
planned for retirement he
never planned for his son
being in politics.
“You know what they call
me now? Not Richard
Young you know, but
Stuart’s father.”
Retirement has certainly
erased a lot of stress from
Young’s life, he told us.
Earlier this year, he took
a nine (9) day Baltic cruise
with his wife before jetting
off to England for two
weeks to celebrate Leeds
50th Carnival anniversary.
When he worked at the
bank, Young’s weekdays
began at 4.30 am so he
could be at the bank for
7 am. Some mornings he
had a “rush breakfast” for
15 minutes or he’d skip
breakfast altogether.
Now, he wakes up at
6 am, and for an hour
and a half sits down to
a relax breakfast that
includes his signature
health smoothie—packed
with ginger, fruit and goji
berries—oatmeal and toast
bread. He reads the day’s
newspapers and then he
people who complained
about the service they got
or their repossessed cars.
Young said he always
believed that there are
three sides to every story
– “yours, theirs and the
truth.” “However in banking
there are 15 versions of the
same story,” he said with a
laugh.
Even with all he had to
do as Managing Director,
Young always found the
time to return calls left by
customers; even if it was at
night when he got home.
“Most of the time, the
customers were surprised
that I returned their call, but
that was just my style of
doing business.”
Following Young’s
retirement announcement
from Scotia in 2012, offers
to sit on several boards
from different companies,
came fast and furious.“This
is no boast but when you
have done well in your
career, people ask for
you to serve on boards
because they know they
can use your knowledge
and experience.”
Originally, Young wanted
to take up photography
upon retirement, having
never really had a hobby in
his bank days. To date, he
has yet to get around to it.
“I always believed in family
life, so when I worked at
the bank, my spare time
was spent with my family.
“While my wife made the
home, even though she
was a nurse, I shuttled the
children, (Stuart, Angus
and Melissa) to school. We
insisted on having dinner
together as a family as
often as we could.”
“On Sundays we used to
rent the St Mary’s Tennis
court to play tennis as a
family. Sometimes the
is out the door ready to start
his work day.
On Saturdays, Young likes
to watch horseracing and
football on his computer,
which he claimed that he
has rediscovered.
“I find the computer
fascinating,” he said.
“I am absorbed with
technology.”
Young also spends his
Saturdays washing his car.
It’s a chore that is made
even more enjoyable when
shared with his 74 year old
friend, George Janoura .
“I drive to his house and
together we clean our
cars. It’s a time where we
just relax lime and talk
stupidness.”
Now five years into
retirement, Young has
been closely following the
conversation about pushing
the retirement age to 65
years old. Earlier this year,
in delivering his feature
address at the formal
opening of the National
Insurance Board’s corporate
headquarters, Finance
Minister the Honourable
Colm Imbert said that
increasing the retirement
age “is an important
matter that requires
careful consideration and
discussion.”
“If they move the retirement
age to 65, it will be unfair to
young people, Young said.
“You will be basically asking
those who are waiting to
move up, to hold some
strain for another five
years.”
“If we are to go to 65 then
we should do it on a phased
basis, from 60 to 62 then 62
to 64 and then 65.”
Retirement can be
complicated financially,
especially for those who
don’t have a savings along
with their pension.”
Young’s advice to
employees is to start
planning for retirement
financially and to be
disciplined about it.
“Once you retire, keep
busy, engage in giving
back – to the church, to
young people… it feels
good to give— and pace
yourself.”
The retirement age for
board members in T&T
is 70. Young is already
reflecting on when he gets
to that age.
“I know my energy levels
will be lower, so I might just
cock up my foot and relax
at home,” he said laughing.
Perhaps he will get that
camera course going in
earnest?
“Oh yes, true, finally!
Richard
Young
