4th March 2022

ECCU Social Security Systems Are Key to National Development

By ECCU

As one of the largest savings account fund of a country, social security systems in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) continue to implement changes to ensure maximum advantage for their beneficiaries.

Speaking on this week’s episode of ECCB Connects, recently Retired Director, of the Anguilla Social Security Board, Dr Timothy Hodge and Acting Deputy Director Research Department – ECCB, Shernnel Thompson, highlight some of the benefits the ECCU social security systems offer and some of the reforms that have been implemented within recent times.

Hodge says that a key mandate of any social security system is to pay benefits to its members. He says that this type of fund can be leveraged for investment purposes and securing loans. Also, in times of crisis, social security systems are often called upon to make significant contributions to national development.

Hodge, who served as head of the Anguilla Social Security Board for over 30 years, notes that in an effort to be more responsive to the needs of its beneficiaries, social security systems have become flexible to change with the times as demographics have changed.

Thompson points out that the results from a survey conducted in 2019, reveal that the social security systems within the ECCU are in good financial standing ranging from 6.8 – 38.8 per cent of GDP.

For the full discussion of this two-part series on the ECCU Social Security Systems, view this week’s episode of ECCB Connects on the ECCB Connects YouTube channel and Facebook page.

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