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Pensioner of the Month
Eddy Jacobs
In Pensioner of the Month, we ask pensioners about retired life. Is it everything they expected? And what can they teach us about our days to come?
In this edition, we meet up with Eddy Jacobs, former Chief of Criminal Investigation, who extended his professional career by ten years after retirement age and is up to now still active in the Police Force Pensioners and Retirees Association and the Huurcommissie.
Sint Maarten-born Eddy Jacobs has had an extensive career in the Sint Maarten Police Force, but as a schoolboy in Curaçao, he was hardly the goody-goody. “After our final exams, I convinced my classmates to stay home – there wouldn’t be much to do anyway. When the headmaster found out, he demanded a meeting with my mother. Instead of my mother however, I brought my cousin, who was a police officer. He made quite the impression on the headmaster and I was allowed to remain part of the graduating class.”
‘I find it important to see the police community out and about – we were not made to hide ourselves indoors.’
The year after graduation, Jacobs sold tickets for unauthorized lotteries. “It was good money – I earned up to 400 guilders per week, which was a lot of money in the sixties. When I entered the police school, I received a stipend of 325 guilders per month, imagine the setback. Still, I considered it worthwhile, because my education would give me the chance to grow and build a career.”
Passion for police work
‘Jacobs returned to his birth soil in the eighties. “I had always wanted to return; it felt like I belonged here and I wanted to make a difference in the Sint Maarten Community. For me, working for the police is not just about responding to violations; it is in fact, primarily about serving the community and making sure its people feel safe, seen, and heard. Police work is not something you just do for the money; you need to have a true passion for it.”
Forced to retire from the Police Department at 60, Jacobs was asked to be the head of security at Westin Hotels, a job he gladly accepted and continued for another decade. He realizes that such a lengthy career is not for everyone. “Working conditions are tough in the Caribbean, especially if you work out on the streets. I am lucky to have been blessed with good health.”
Jacobs is still very much part of the police community as the chairperson of the Police Force Pensioners and Retirees Association. “The events and get-togethers we organize are a great way of staying in touch. I try to enthuse as many of us as possible to join, because I find it important to see the police community out and about – we were not made to hide ourselves indoors.”
To fellow and future pensioners, he advises, “Don’t obsess over material wants too much and stop comparing yourself to others. Your former colleague might get a brand-new car when he retires, but that doesn’t mean you need one too. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Also, if you have a dream, like a big house or a nice car, start making it happen when you are still young and working – why wait until you are retired?”
