With more than $21 million already paid out in sickness benefits for 2025, the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) says it is aggressively working to eliminate a recent backlog caused by an unprecedented spike in claims and ongoing system upgrades.
The agency assured the public that recovery was well underway, with processing times steadily improving and new measures in place to prevent future delays.
While acknowledging the frustration experienced by some claimants, the NISSS is urging patience
as it rolls out automation enhancements and bolsters staffing to bring turnaround times back to acceptable levels.
“As of July 31, 2025, we have paid 16 181 sickness benefit claims totalling $21 888 581,” NISSS chief executive officer Kim Tudor stated in a response to DAILY NATION inquiries. “This is a strong indicator that our corrective efforts are bearing fruit. For comparison, in the entire year of 2024, we paid 26 500 sickness benefit claims at a value of $40 240 078.”
Tudor explained that the delays stemmed from a surge in claim volumes in recent months, combined with the implementation of digital upgrades aimed at improving the long-term efficiency of benefit processing. While these upgrades were necessary, they temporarily affected processing times.
To address the issue, the NISSS reassigned staff to support the benefits department, introduced automation enhancements to accelerate claims processing and began re-engineering internal work flows to reduce turnaround times across all benefit categories.
Tudor said the interventions had already started to make a measurable difference, adding that the institution was steadily returning to its normal processing rhythm.
She firmly rejected the claim, by some that Government’s $300 Solidarity Payment initiative might have diverted resources from the NISSS and contributed to delays in benefit payments, pointing out that the Solidarity Payment was administered independently of National Insurance operations.
“We wish to state categorically that the administration of the Solidarity Payment did not, in any way, affect the processing or payment of National Insurance benefits. The initiative was managed through a separate operational stream, with its own dedicated resources and personnel and was deliberately designed to ensure that it did not disrupt the delivery of our core programmes,”
she said.
Sickness benefits form only one part of the NISSS’s broader portfolio, as the institution continues to process a wide range of claims, including maternity, funeral grants, invalidity, survivors’ benefits, and both contributory and non-contributory pensions. According to Tudor, these services remained fully functional and were being processed with minimal disruption.
The NISSS also reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and pledged to keep the public informed as the agency works to eliminate the backlog and improve service delivery. Tudor thanked the public for its patience and understanding, stating that efforts were not only focused on resolving current challenges but also on strengthening the system to better serve Barbadians going forward.
“We are building a stronger, more resilient NISSS, one that can respond more swiftly and reliably to the needs of our contributors,” Tudor said, while thanking the staff of the NISSS for their hard work and dedication during what she described as a demanding period of transition and reform. (CLM)
