– eyes external help to improve operations By Leonard GildarieGovernment has not ruled out “external” help to place the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) on firmer footing.The $30B fund is facing a situation where annual income from contributors, for past few years, falls below what is being paid out in pensions and other benefits. The situation is a worrying one for Government and the managers of the fund as the long term sustainability is under question.NIS Chairman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, and GM Doreen NelsonThis week, the scheme is celebrating its 44th anniversary but there is an urgency to tighten operations, cut costs and increase contributions. According to Chairman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who has been at the helm of the fund for over 20 years, NIS was not forceful in dealing with the situation. There may be a need to infuse help, both internally and externally.During the Annual General Assembly at the NIS head office on Brickdam yesterday, Dr Luncheon in urging staffers and management to lift services,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, made it clear that any such measures could include a “cross fertilization” of skills. Under any model to be examined for an improved NIS would have to include “novel” and “innovative” thinking.He admitted that there is “room for improvement” with more to be done.Yesterday, General Manager,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, Doreen Nelson,Jerseys From China Online, who signaled increased monitoring and visits to businesses, disclosed that there is an alarming reduction of 25 per cent in the number of active employers in 2012, as compared to the previous year.Public disclosures indicate some industries and large employers as having financial difficulties.Business licencesTo ensure compliance, she is calling for measures to be introduced that link the issuance of business licences with NIS. “We are still hopeful that by law, compliance with the NIS laws and regulations would be a requirement for the issuance or renewal of business licences.”With 14 offices countrywide, between 1969 and 2012, NIS has on its database some 27,000 employers but only 4,500 are active and remitting contributions. Employees total 660,000 persons but only 117,000 are active or paying contributions.According to the General Manager, the number of actives declined over the last decade and does not augur well for the future of the scheme since it is expected that those in the workforce would be able to sustain payments to the pension population. “The trend of movement from the structured workforce to an expanding informal workforce that is not complying with NIS regulations seems to be continuing.”In terms of self-employed persons, there are 29,900 registered with 8,Wholesale Jerseys,800 active and many are not remitting regularly. Others are reluctant to register.“Generally, there are still many workers in the country who are not covered by the scheme and surprisingly,NFL Jerseys China Wholesale, many still think it is not mandatory to be registered and have contributions on their behalf.”At the end of last year, income from contributions was approximately $11.8B with total expenditures of $13.2B of which $11.7B are related to benefit payments. The year ended with deficit of $474.2M.ChallengingThis year, the finances did not improve. Contributions collected between January to August was $7.754B with expenditures of $9.12B. The projections at 2013 show that income from contributions is likely to be approximately $11.631B while expenditure $13.684B.According to Nelson,Cheap Jerseys USA, another major challenge facing NIS this year and onwards, is the fact that more pensioners would be eligible for benefits. This is because all those who joined the scheme at age 16 in 1969 would be attaining age 60 years. “…and therefore from this year onward, the number of old age pensioners with full contributions and cost for those pensions are expected to increase significantly. This will put a greater strain on the fund.”In terms of compliance, this is perhaps the most challenging. Investigations have found a number of illegal things done by employers, including instances where workers are given contracts forcing them to pay the contributions instead. This is in addition to collusions between employers and workers not to pay NIS.Nelson said that NIS has moved in a systematic manner to reduce in house costs with more employers sending electronic schedule submissions of contributions. This has reduced paper use and improve record keeping, she said.Several long serving workers and children who have performed well in recent exams were honored yesterday. So too was Dr. Luncheon, for his 20 years as Chairman.