NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for the National Insurance Board, Myles Laroda gave an update this morning at the Office of the Prime Minister on the state of the NIB fund, saying that there has been no resolution on the issue.
“The situation is fluid. We have discussed it in the report in its entirety. No decision has been made yet on which part of any given act at this point,” Laroda said.
After a 10-25 year audit revealed that the department couldn’t sustain NIB contributions, the Prime Minister stated earlier this year that despite recommendations, there would not be an increase in national insurance contribution rates until the Bahamian people could handle the burden.
The Prime Minister’s comments followed Laroda’s public foreshadowing of a possible increase of up to two percent.
Laroda added that as they come to a decision, which may be likely in short order, they are considering the entire scope of the situation.
He said: “This is going to be impactful for businesses and for individuals; like I said, we’ve looked at all of the variables that would be that you’re looking at, including the income of the board, including the outlays, what is being spent on prescriptions, and other things, and I guess in the not too distant future, a decision would be made.”
Although NIB expects to encounter millions of dollars in losses every month, the Minister stated that the amount of unemployment benefits being paid out has fallen.
“The National Insurance Board is projected to lose around $70 million and stop the state report. So that’s around $6 million a month,” Laroda said.
“So we’ll see. I think I said last week that unemployment benefits are around $610,000 per month, which is lower than it’s been in the past, and hopefully, that trend continues”.
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