As announced in the Budgetary Proposals and Financial Statement 2025, the Government of Barbados will issue a one-off $300 payment called the Solidarity Allowance. This tax-free payment is designed to distribute the benefits of stronger-than-expected corporate tax revenues from 2024 to a broad segment of the population, particularly those who have contributed to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in the past year, as well as pensioners, welfare recipients, and individuals receiving invalidity benefits.
Is the Solidarity Allowance taxable?
No, the Solidarity Allowance is free from income tax.
What is the criteria for receiving the Solidarity Allowance?
Every Barbadian over 18 years old and every person with legal status who has made a contribution to the NIS in the last year will qualify for the Solidarity Allowance;
All persons who made Contributions to NIS in the last 12 months;
All NIS Contributory Pensioners;
All Non-Contributory Pensioners including those accessing Special Needs grant;
All persons receiving invalidity benefit from the NIS;
All Welfare Clients receiving support, not in any category above;
Persons who are not on welfare and others who have not worked in the last 12 months;
Persons entitled to receive the allowance must have been ordinarily resident in Barbados during the last 12 months, that is, since April 1, 2024.
When will the payment be made?
Solidarity Allowance payments will be made from May 14, 2025, until June 30, 2025.
Who will issue the payment?
To facilitate this payment, different government agencies will pay different categories of persons. If you are employed in central government or a welfare recipient, your Solidarity Allowance will be disbursed through the Treasury Department, deposited directly into the same bank account where you currently receive your salary or welfare payments.
If you are employed by a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), your payment will be issued by your organisation, using the payroll system already in place.
The Barbados Revenue Authority will issue payments to private sector employees registered in the tax system with banking information; and the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) will issue payments to self-employed persons, pensioners, and all others who are eligible but have not been captured by the other agencies. This includes issuing payments by cheque to private sector employees where no banking information is available for direct deposit.
What do you need to do if you do not fall into the categories mentioned or if you are not captured by any of the agencies disbursing the Solidarity Allowance?
Persons who do not fall in the above categories and who are eligible but have not received the payment from any of the payment agencies identified, should visit the designated locations across the country.
A due diligence check will be made and persons will thereafter receive the Solidarity Allowance if eligible.
What are the designated locations for registration?
Registration desks will be set up at the National Insurance Office in Collymore Rock and at designated Post Offices, which will be advertised on assigned dates.
Date
Location
May 7 – 9
General Post Office, Brittons Hill, St George, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Joseph
May 12 – 16
General Post Office, St. James, St. Peter, St. Philip, Worthing
May 20 – 23
General Post Office, St. Andrew, St. Philip, St. Joseph, St. John
May 26 – 30
General Post Office, Worthing, St. Peter, St. James, Brittons Hill
What information do you need to have to get registered at the designated locations?
Persons seeking registration will be required to present the following:
The National Identification Card (preferably the Trident ID Card);
The header of the last bank or credit union statement showing branch number and account number (if in possession of a bank/credit union account);
Your Tax Identification Number (TIN) if registered with the Barbados Revenue Authority The current address to which payment should be issued in the absence of a bank account; and
Contact number or email address.
A due diligence check will be made and persons will thereafter receive the Solidarity Allowance if eligible.
What should you do if you feel aggrieved?
In the event that you have a grievance in relation to Solidarity Allowance, there will be an appellate process which comprise of:
the Director of Finance and Economic Affairs, as chairman;
the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and
the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs.
It should be noted that all such grievance applications for the Solidarity Allowance must be made, before June 30, 2025, in order to be eligible.
If the Solidarity Allowance be paid to an eligible person who dies, would the payment form part of the estate?
This payment will not form part of the estate as it is not a benefit. Therefore, it will be returned to the state. (PR/GIS)
Attorney-At-Law Sandra Rawlins Is New Public Counsel
Attorney-at-law Sandra Rawlins is the new Public Counsel in the Office of Public Counsel, Ministry of Energy and Business.
Ms. Rawlins was appointed on promotion to the position with effect from April 15, 2025.
The new Public Counsel said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Barbados and promised to do her best along with her staff, to protect consumers’ rights and advocate for them in accordance with the law.
“My immediate plans for the organisation are to handle consumer complaints expeditiously; to have a website set up before the end of this financial year; and to continue our programme of education to consumers and suppliers,” she shared.
Prior to this appointment, she acted as Deputy Solicitor General with responsibility for Contracts and International Law, in the Solicitor General’s Chambers for about two and a half years.
Ms. Rawlins was called to the Bar in Barbados in 2006, after successfully completing the Legal Education Certificate at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and a Master of Laws from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in Corporate and Commercial Law.
Since 2007, she stated, she “has gained valuable legal experience, including litigation”, while working in the Solicitor General’s Chambers. In 2017 and 2018, Ms. Rawlins briefly served as an acting Magistrate in the District A (Criminal Court) and District C Magistrate’s Court.
Before entering the legal profession, Ms. Rawlins was a graduate teacher at two secondary schools, having joined the Barbados Public Service in September 1984. (PR/GIS)
Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, was today sworn in as a Member of the Cabinet and Member of Parliament by The President of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, at State House.
After the brief swearing-in ceremony, Dame Sandra congratulated Mr. Blackman, who is the new Member of Parliament for St. James North.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley; Deputy Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw; Attorney General Dale Marshall; Senior Ministers Kerrie Symmonds and Dr. William Duguid; other ministers; and Mr. Blackman’s parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, among others.
Ms. Mottley congratulated the new Minister and lauded some of his attributes. She thanked Mr. Blackman “for his extraordinary humility, commitment to people, discipline and willingness to engage persons at all levels….
“I ask only that you remain humble, … [and] committed to serving the people of Barbados”, she urged.
Additionally, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Minister’s parents, saying that over the years, he had set a fine example in being committed to serving at all levels.
Ms. Mottley said a vacancy now existed in the Senate Chambers and a new Senator would be announced shortly.
Meanwhile, Mr. Blackman thanked the Prime Minister for again reposing confidence in him and allowing him to serve in the Cabinet.
He continued: “I commit to working to ensure that the country’s educational transformational journey is one that, of course, is exciting, but equally rooted in understanding where we have to go, bearing in mind the nuances that we have as a country to take into consideration, as the global community that we operate under constantly changes.
“And, therefore, we have to change and adapt to it, equally putting Bajan values and ideas to the fore because the world must benefit from the intellectual capacity that we have in Barbados.”
Mr. Blackman said he was again looking forward to serving at the ministerial level and promised to continue working on behalf of the people of Barbados. (PR/GIS)
CAPTION: Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, is congratulated by parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, at State House
Chad Blackman is set to be sworn in on Thursday as the new Member of Parliament for St James North, following a resounding win in Wednesday’s by-election. Representing the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Blackman captured 84 per cent of the vote.
He secured 2,723 of the 3,231 ballots cast, leaving his nearest challenger, Felicia Dujon of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), far behind with 468 votes. Steffanie Williams of the Community Empowerment Party received 21 votes, while Alex Mitchell of the Bajan Free Party garnered seven. A total of 12 ballots were rejected.
With just over 8,500 registered voters in the constituency, the turnout stood at approximately 38 per cent.
When asked about how he felt after securing victory, Blackman said he was humbled, adding, “I see this, yes, as a victory, but now the real hard work begins. I made a lot of commitments to the people of St James North and, of course, the people of Barbados, and it’s really now to get on to the business of work.”
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