I do not have access to WordPerfect and the version of Word to which I have access is Word 97 which is not the latest version by several editions.
However, here is how to turn kerning on in Word 97 in the hope that the information will be helpful.
Select Format from the menu bar and then Font… from the drop-down menu, then select the tab for Character Spacing then click on Kerning for fonts: so that the checkbox becomes checked and set the Points and above value to whatever point size you choose, then click OK.
You are welcome, if you so choose, also to try your tests using my Kern Deco font which is available using a link in the first post in the following thread.
Actually version 0.052 is available at present as the link for the font provides the latest available version.
In the Kern Deco font the uppercase letters have some kerning pairs yet the lowercase letters have no kerning pairs. The glyph designs for uppercase and lowercase are the same. The Kern Deco font may well be useful for testing kerning as the kerning overlap (that may not be the correct term) is large.
I hope that this helps.
William Overington
23 December 2008