SELF-EMPLOYED people are the greatest challenge to the National Insurance Service (NIS).
Speaking to THE NATION after a lecture at Frank Collymore Hall, NIS director Ian Carrington said that even though legislation provided for self-employed people to pay their own contributions and receive the relevant benefits, people were opting to look after themselves.
“Then when they reach retirement, find in fact that they were not able to look after themselves. So our challenge is to increase the compliance rate in terms of bringing more persons into the social safety net, regardless of whether those persons are professional or the person in the informal sector,” he revealed.
While he acknowledged it was an educational issue, which the NIS was working on, he said people had to take “certain responsibilities” for looking after themselves.
He said people in the informal sector, in particular, were not making the required payments but would come when they reach the age of retirement to seek a pension.
Carrington said situations like those placed them in a situation where they had to write the Welfare Department and make a case for the people who had not complied.
“We much prefer people be more proactive and take responsibility for their lives and act in a responsible manner,” he said.
