Icing on the cake
NCB’s ‘Retire Like a Boss’ Brunch blends fun, food and finance
Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 4:39 PMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
In a fresh take on financial education, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Insurance Agency and Fund Managers Limited hosted a ‘Retire like a Boss’ brunch for 25 dynamic Jamaican social media influencers on Sunday. Held at the Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen(JFDK) in St Andrew, the event seamlessly blended fun with learning, featuring a cupcake decorating tutorial alongside important lessons on securing a strong retirement and emergency fund. The brunch carried the theme ‘Design Your Future Like a Boss’, with influencers travelling from as far as Mandeville and Montego Bay to join in the experience.
Guests were treated to a hands-on decorating session led by JFDK’s resident chef, Celeste Gordon, who explained that the specific ingredient packs provided – containing vanilla icing, chocolate icing, sprinkles, chocolates, and other assortments – represented aspects of life that must come together to create a solid cupcake or a strong financial future.
“We gave them an assortment of things so that they can play with textures and flavours, all the different ingredients we had there for them to create a masterpiece,” Gordon shared. She also mentioned that the decision to pair the cupcake decorating with financial planning was intentional, explaining that “it’s always great to have people end on a sweet note.”
While the influencers got busy with their cupcakes, Kerryann McCourty-Simmonds, consumer products retail and sales manager at NCB Insurance, spoke about the importance of preparing for life’s unexpected moments.
“As you work hard to grow your businesses, I want to take a moment to talk about something equally important: preparing for life’s unexpected moments. As entrepreneurs, you’re the chief executive officer of everything – your business, your finances [and] your future. An emergency fund is your safety net, offering you peace of mind, and the flexibility to deal with unexpected challenges, so you don’t have to make rushed decisions or dip into your business funds.”
McCourty-Simmonds also outlined that just as how baking and cupcake decorations may not come out how the social media influencers present envisioned, so too can their future fall apart if they do not properly plan for their retirement.
Akeem Boothe, social media influencer who became popular from real estate postings, left feeling empowered to put more input into his retirement planning and current investment portfolio.
“It really brought into perspective that the time is really now to do what we have to do for our future, because time goes by so quickly. When you sit down and say we’re going to do this, we actually waste time next week, next year, but really and truly, the best time is actually now, and they have the facilities to assist us.” Boothe told Food.