The Small Business Association (SBA) supports the call for all to pay contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), but chief executive officer Dr Lynette Holder is calling for a revisit of the scheme and its benefits for self-employed people.
“All persons must pay their fair share and make their contribution. The SBA obviously supports that, and as we’ve done in the past and continue to do, we will organise educational sessions to help members appreciate the value of this social security benefit to them,” she said.
She was speaking at the end of the media launch of Small Business Week at Flow’s Warrens corporate office when she was quizzed about the possibility of Barbadians not receiving a pension from the NIS upon retirement.
Last month, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley disclosed that the NIS needed an urgent fix, with actuarial experts projecting its near $44 billion National Insurance Fund risks being depleted by 2034 if major reforms were not undertaken. While she noted the fund was not currently in crisis, Mottley said measures needed to be taken now.
But, Holder said, officials needed to revisit the social security model as it had shown some disparity to self-employed people during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (RA)