NIS donations, etc increase 137% in election years

By: Crusader

After being supplied with a copy of the 10^th Actuarial Review from an individual, I delved into it and compared its contents with those of the 11^th Actuarial Review. I would like to present some comparisons for the reader’s attention. This piece will focus more on administrative costs. To see the overall annual cost of administrative expenses, please click here. In 2014, administrative expenses were EC$10,327,540 and EC$12,557,942 in 2021. Please see Table 1 for a more detailed breakdown of the administrative costs.

Table 1: General and administrative expenses from 2014-2021

*The figures for salaries and wages do not include retirement benefit plan contributions, staff training and uniforms, or medical insurance contributions.

One of the four primary objectives of the National Insurance Services (NIS) is administrative efficiency. According to the 11^th Actuarial Review, administrative efficiency addresses how well the NIS keeps operating and management costs low while delivering quality service. During the period from 2014 to 2021, admin costs rose by 22%. This raise is alarming due to the following:

1. On page 2 of the 10^th Actuarial Review covering the period 2014 to 2016, it was stated that “steps have been taken to gradually reduce admin costs by controlling donations and managing staff related costs”. Interestingly, donations, community and education projects have increased during the election years of 2015 and 2020. From 2014 to 2015, the amount allocated increased by more than 100%, and from 2019 to 2020, it increased by 137%.
2. Both the 10^th and 11^th Actuarial Reviews recommended that the NIS reduce their admin costs. Despite these sensible and repeated recommendations, admin costs continue to rise and were up to EC$12,557,942 in 2021.
3. Both the 10^th and 11^th Actuarial Reviews stated that the NIS in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is one of the most expensive to operate in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada operate in a less cost-effective manner than the NIS in SVG.
4. In the NIS 2017 annual report, it was stated that the admin costs were considered high. Additionally, the report indicated that the level of admin costs needed to be managed as they had the potential to worsen the NIS finances. The 11^th Actuarial Review warned of rising admin costs being a factor that can make the NIS fund deplete quicker than projected.

Essentially, the NIS needs reform. These changes should be equitably spread across the contributors and the NIS. For contributors, a 0.5% annual increase in contribution rate (0.25% per employee and 0.25% per employer up to the year 2034) should be satisfactory and take into consideration the high cost of living. Additionally, the reduction of the accrual rate from 60% to 55% is reasonable.

However, other changes need to be included. One such change is to reduce the admin costs from EC$12 million to EC$7-9 million, in harmony with the actuarial review. If the current director is not capable of such steps, then maybe there is a need for someone else to ensure that operating costs remain low and in keeping with the primary objective of administrative efficiency, as the millions of dollars saved in administrative costs can be invested to generate greater returns and reduce the likelihood of the funds depleting quicker than expected.

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