The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has seen a 30% increase in active contributors since 2020, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed today, even as he urged the Insurance Scheme to improve its service delivery.

In his address at the NIS 56^th Anniversary General Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, the Senior Minister said active employee contributors moved from 184,928 in August 2020 to 253,489 in August 2025 – an increase of 68,561.

“Just for emphasis that is movement from 184,928 to 253,489 that is an increase of 68,561
persons, meaning that over the course of that five year period, the number of active employee contributors at the scheme grew by nearly 70,000, grew by more than 37%,” Minister Singh said.

The Finance Minister said the figure should come as no surprise, noting that during that period more than 60,000 new jobs were created since 2020.

He said the increase in contributors is also a reflection of the growth and expansion of the country’s economy, and more so, the expansion in private investment.

The figures also signal an increase in active self-employed contributors with the number of contributors in that category increasing from 6,210 in August 2020 to 13,288 in August 2025 – an increase of more than 7000.

In total, more than 75,000 active contributors have been recorded in the system since August 2020 – representing a 30% increase.

“All of these people expect, appropriately so, they expect that their contributions will be accurately recorded and reflected in their contribution statement. And, they expect that they will get their benefits on time when they are legally entitled to those benefits,” he said.

Minister Singh urged the Insurance Scheme to capitalize on existing technology including banking services to improve its service delivery, stating that contributors deserve a high quality of service.

It was noted that while thousands of contributors now receive their pensions via the banks, thousands are still not using the banking option.   

Further, Minister Singh said the NIS must provide citizen friendly services, and demonstrate a high level of efficiency, adding that those who are not up to the task must make way for others who are willing and capable of getting the job done.

Dr. Singh challenged the Board and Management of NIS to propose a menu of initiatives that would enhance contributors’ experience when conducting business with the Insurance Scheme.

Chairman of NIS Board of Directors, Ramesh Persaud said while the complaints are often made public, NIS workers continue to deliver critical services everyday to thousands of contributors and pensioners.

“A lot of what the National Insurance Scheme does is unseen to the general public. What we see in the general public most of the time are complaints of dissatisfaction with regards to items that are outstanding. But you and I know that many of those complaints is just a small part of what you do on a day to day basis. I mean, there are instances whereby, let’s say, for every one complaint you have, you are solving in excess of 200-300 matters that are easier to solve,” Persaud said.

However, he too acknowledged that there is room for improvement, even as the country undergoes massive transformation and growth.

“The environment around us is demanding changes that are far superior than we are capable of offering. We exist, not as an island, but we exist in an environment. We can say we exist in an ecosystem, an ecosystem that requires us to be a resilient organization. When we were started in 1969 much of what exists today in terms of ecosystem did not exist in 1969 much of what exists today in the ecosystem did not exist 10 years ago. Some of what exists today did not exist five years ago. My point, there is that we cannot come to work every day and accept the status quo and accept that this is how we have been doing it for the last 40 or 50 years, but we must challenge ourselves so that we can improve the manner in which we serve the general public,” he said.

NIS General Manager, Holly Greaves was among officials present at the General Assembly.

To mark the occasion, the Insurance Scheme presented bursary awards to a number of students, while also recognizing a number of its long serving employees and retirees.

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