Close to one billion dollars in benefits are expected to be paid to Barbadians this year by the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS).
This was disclosed yesterday by the NISSS’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kim Tudor, as she spoke to media representatives on the sidelines of the Technical Seminar: Communication approaches and strategies in social security institutions in the Caribbean, being hosted at the Hilton Barbados, Needham’s Point, St Michael, from June 2 to 4.
Noting these funds were the kind of monies that passed through the NISSS as income support for Barbadians, she reiterated: “It is going to be about a billion Barbadian dollars this year in benefits.”
Ms. Tudor further noted that the NISSS, now in its 58th year, had also made it a lot more flexible and easier for self-employed persons. Pointing out that this month the organisation would be holding an orientation session/workshop for the creatives in Barbados, she said this would allow them to “hear in detail and ask questions, specifically about the self-employed”.
Explaining the need for this, she added: “Remember now, with the self-employed, we recognise that people are gig workers, and their money isn’t consistently a monthly salary. They get it based on gigs and other kinds of activities. And you can come to the NIS and pay any amount, at any time, you know. And we will prorate it over the year for you.”
The CEO, in a call out to such individuals, said: “So whatever you have, you can come. You know, there is Crop Over coming up. You make a lot of money at Crop Over, come and pay your NIS for the year, one time. So, those are some of the things that we have made, to make it more flexible. Our social media pages are being followed more and more. And of course, we will push that.”
While also noting that persons are currently registering for the Solidarity Allowance, Ms. Tudor let it be known that now was “a useful time to ask any questions” of the organisation and stressed that as the NISSS moved forward, it would be engaging a lot more with the public via fora and other avenues.
The head of the NISSS, referring to an appeal by one media house to make her organisation’s reports/annual reports more accessible to the public, admitted this was being actively worked on.
She further added that efforts are ongoing to make sure annual reports are updated and soon there would be annual presentations to the public, highlighting the progress of the fund, how it was performing and how much it was paying out, among other things.
“That’s the information we will share with the public so that we can build that trust because we are working hard for you. We recognise…the important role that social security plays in income security, so we take it very seriously, and we want you to be able to know that we are …working towards making sure that happens for you,” she stated.
