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Amid waves of applause and standing ovations for 110 veteran educators at the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) Golden Torch Awards on Friday, the most powerful message wasn't about medals or milestones -- it was a rallying cry for pension reform.

JTA President Dr Mark Smith took the opportunity to make a forceful appeal for the nation to address what he called a long-standing injustice faced by retired educators.

"The Government, whether JLP [Jamaica Labour Party] or PNP [People's National Party], must step up and protect our pensioners at their most vulnerable point," Smith said.

His appeal comes as both major political parties -- the governing JLP and the opposition PNP -- intensify their campaigns ahead of the next general election, due by September.

Smith said the issue of teachers' pension is a major one that needs urgent attention. He said that retired teachers "are left to struggle on pensions that can't even cover their medication".

"Imagine a couple, two retired principals who reached the highest level, telling me their pensions together can't pay for their monthly prescriptions," he told THE STAR.

"That should shock our conscience as a nation."

He painted a grim picture of former teachers forced to choose between food and healthcare, abandoned by the very system they helped uphold.

"My heart bleeds when I visit the Retired Teachers' Association and hear the stories," he said. "Many can hardly afford basic healthcare. We have to do better as a country."

The JTA president lauded honourees like 92-year-old Dorothy Isaacs, who served for an astounding 53 years, and expressed admiration for all the retirees who, despite decades of underpayment, gave their lives to shaping Jamaica's youth.

"For 35 years and more, some of you have taken a pay penalty -- all of us have taken a pay penalty -- to serve this nation," Smith said.

"You have done so with extraordinary enthusiasm, but we must amplify the conversation that all pensioners must be given a pension that honours their work and service to this nation."

Smith didn't mince words when he spoke to THE STAR about the scale of the problem.

"We need to sharpen the conscience of our nation to understand that we need to do better for our pensioners," he contended.

"Jamaica cannot achieve its full potential unless we coalesce around the value of education advancing national interests," he said.

While the country boasts about macroeconomic gains and ambitions under the national development goal, Vision 2030, Smith said, the reality for many retired educators is stark -- especially those without children or support systems.

"The reality is after 35-40 years in the classroom, being underpaid and taking what is best described as a pay penalty to serve, they should not be asked to come back out to 'help the system'," Smith said. "Instead, we must ensure that when they retire, they can live decently."

He warned that Jamaica's ongoing teacher migration crisis won't be solved without meaningful investment in both active and retired educators.