Minister: Have faith in NIS

More than 123 000 people are covered by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), over 42 000 receive pensions in all categories, and more than $500 million was paid out by NIS last year, says Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development Senator Dr Esther Byer Suckoo.
These figures, according to the minister, show that in spite of the country’s dire economic situation, the NIS was in a good position and Barbadians had no reason to panic.
“It has been challenging . . . we have had to dip into the savings of the NIS but it is prepared to meet the demands of the people for the next several years, and since we do anticipate economic growth in a couple of years, we are not beginning to panic and I do not encourage you to panic either. We are still looking good,” she told the congregation celebrating the scheme’s 47th anniversary at the People’s Cathedral yesterday morning.
Stressing that the NIS had made a tremendous impact on just about every person who had worked in Barbados in the last half-century, Byer Suckoo also said that in the current challenging times, Barbadians should be even more grateful for the scheme.
“Thousands of workers have been retrenched in the public and private sectors and they have had to turn to the NIS,” she remarked, calling it “a lifeline for many”.