Today, Social Security Board held its annual Connect forum. It's a way for the SSB to report to and engage with the public - especially the business sector. In this afternoon's session, they highlighted a 50 million surplus from 2024 androlled out their plans for the next five years. Acting CEO, Jerome Palma, also explained that they are showcasing new digital features to come.
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"This year we're taking the opportunity to also unveil a couple new features in our SSB portal. So we're taking the opportunity to roll out some new stuff. We began the year rolling out a new features in our SSD online portal. So we're taking the opportunity to roll out some new stuff. We began the year rolling out a new feature, the Online Sickness Claims Submission. We have the retirement benefit claim submission that is also now going to be available online. And then we're also unveiling our five year strategic plan. So we are unveiling our 2025 to 2029 strategic plan. And we will go over just the main highlights of strategic priorities at this function today."
"The most important highlight I would say, is because of the contribution reform, we had an increase in our contribution income, and we have a surplus of almost 50 million at the end of the year, which goes towards an increased fund. We are very mindful that over the next few years we will continue to expect an increase, and then by 2028, 2029, that's when our period of equilibrium will take effect. And we'll have to make some adjustments sometime before that. But the main highlight is that it was a good year in terms of contribution. We ended up with a surplus, meaning that by the time we were done with the contribution revenue, the investment income, paying up benefits, administrative expenses, we were left with almost 50 million in surplus. That goes towards the long term fund for the most part."
"The moving to the more digital platform will improve our administrative efficiency. What we anticipate is that we will be able to process things faster, quicker turnaround time. It will improve our data. There should be much more credible data by going to a more digital platform. What we expect then is it will shift the way in which our clients that insured person, the Belizean population, engage with us wherever they are at, they'll be able to contact us. We have people, for example, who are nearing retirement age that may not be living in Belize. So we are hoping to minimize the need for people to have the physical come in office. And that's what a lot of the digitizing actually help us to do."
Reporter:
"What was the key contributor to that overall surplus?"
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"The key contributor was the increase in the contribution rate. You would have recalled that there was contribution reform. And in 2024 now, the full increase to the 10%. So we saw an increase in that regard. And that was a main driver in terms of actually the surplus for the year."
Reporter:
"What does this surplus mean for the sustainability of the fund?"
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"It means in the long term that we have an increased fund and increased reserve, which increase our ability in terms of the investment income for us to place a bit more on contributing to in investing in the wider society and to generate additional returns. It also is a more direct match in terms of our increase for benefits for insured persons that we remain sustainable in the long term because we can more directly match the reality of more persons now nearing retirement age that are participating in the scheme."
Reporter:
"So now the increase in contributions is that being driven by the BPO sector?"
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"We have seen an increase in terms of that sector, and that has impacted positively in terms of the contribution revenue."
Reporter:
"What else?"
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"Well, there are other sectors that have improved, the general economy. We've seen an improvement and then wages overall have increased. We are mindful that the contribution is percentage of wages. So, for example, the increase in the minimum wage would mean that more people are earning more income. So the actual percentage has a positive effect on the contribution that comes into the fund. So there are many factors that impact it. I just highlighted some."
Palma also spoke more about the highlights of their 5 year strategic plan.
Jerome Palma, Acting CEO, SSB
"Some of the other highlights include good governance, which is essentially a starting point. Without good governance we can't do anything else. That is one of the pillars in my first strategic priorities. And the other pillar is key modernization. We recognize where we need to improve the legislation. We need to adjust to have, better benefits, a wider scope, to adjust to some of the new mediums of work that perhaps were not envisioned when the legislation was first constructed. And also for scheme modernization to more utilize technology. There's a lot of technology out there. The AI has just evolved tremendously. We have to take time to see how we can improve that. And finally, operational excellence. We want that all the insured persons can go into SSB and have a good experience operationally. That has to be our focus. How do we improve our service delivery? How do we improve and reach to all corners, everybody? But how do we improve in terms of in whom you walk in, who people who may submit online and to other stakeholders? Operational excellence is the third one there. Well, three out of four with the fund sustainability being the fourth."
