What is the Solidarity Allowance?

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.

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)

The One Family Programme has received another injection of funds from CIBC Caribbean.

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, received the donation of $8,000 on behalf of the programme, during a hand over ceremony at the Warrens Office Complex, Warrens, St. Michael, on Monday. Mr. Humphrey said the funds would assist in educating and training many individuals.

CIBC Barbados’ Country Manager, Kemar Polius, who presented the cheque, stated it was the bank’s second year participating in the One Family Programme. 

He expressed pleasure at partnering again with the Ministry, saying: “But going beyond that, going all the way back to COVID [19 pandemic], we would have supported the Ministry in supporting the people in our community.

“This is exceptionally dear to us, as a bank. We are from this community, and we want to give back. So, we are very proud to be a part of this.”

Minister Humphrey, thanking the representative of CIBC Caribbean as well as the team assigned to Government’s One Family Programme, remarked: “This is the second time, officially, in relation to the direct contribution to the One Family Programme, but the Ministry has a relationship with CIBC. Last year, around the time of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, they … donated $8,000, and again today, we are receiving a contribution of $8,000.

“And, we made the commitment, last year, that the funds that come into the Ministry, by any organisation, we would be in a position to trace where those funds went and directly what the funds contributed to.”

He pointed out that with last year’s donation, the Ministry was able to support, through the Barbados Hospitality Institute of the Barbados Community College,15 families “who would have been training in work pertaining to housekeeping and so on”. 

Adding that most of those persons are either working or in the process of getting work, Minister Humphrey told Mr. Polius: “So, you were able to directly contribute to empowering a family.”

Also highlighting the importance of training as an essential component to breaking the scourge of poverty, Mr. Humphrey said: “People’s capacity to work. People’s capacity to earn is the fundamental component, along with the many other pillars in the One Family Programme – counselling, healthcare, access to education, housing, many things. But definitely, if you can get more people working, we feel that we would be able to break poverty. And those funds were used to help us empower people to work, give them official training.”

He noted the funds would also be used to assist individuals to enhance their reading skills as they participate in a reading programme, being facilitated by Babb’s Reading Clinic, this summer.

Minister Humphrey pointed out that not only would there be a major focus on training/capacity building, with respect to the One Family Programme, but this would also be the case with the new Social Empowerment Agency and Crime Prevention Programme.

Adding that training is “the critical component to moving the needle forward”, he said: “We are very thankful for this support. It goes directly to our work in the Ministry, and it will change lives in a real and a meaningful way.” (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey (second from left), receives a donation of $8,000 for the One Family Programme from CIBC Barbados’ Country Manager, Kemar Polius (left) while Project Development Manager, One Family Programme, Nicole Daniel and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Mark Franklin, look on

Staff and students at West Terrace Primary School, along with education officials and specially invited guests, witnessed the burial of a time capsule last Friday, on its grounds, at West Terrace, St. James.

This event was part of the school’s 40th anniversary celebrations, and was held under the theme Sealing the Past, Securing the Future.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, congratulated the principal, staff, and students on this initiative, hailing it as a demonstration of “laying hold of our national anthem, our motto and the cultural values of Barbadians”. 

 “Our national anthem says we write our name on history’s page …. Today, West Terrace, in its 40th year, is now capturing what it has written on history’s page, and we are placing it in a capsule for a future generation of West Terrace school children and teachers to understand what this moment meant for us, and West Terrace has been blazing a trail.

“You are living it out in what you are doing every single day when you come to school.  You’re taking advantage of our free education to give yourselves an admirable start.  Each and every one of you can be a star, a star for Barbados, and I want to encourage all of you to continue on this path, to work with your teachers, to work with your parents so that you can become the best that you can be,” she said.

Principal Charmain Jones, stated that the anniversary is testimony to 40 years of dreams realised, challenges overcome, and [the] future shaped. She said she believes that “the best is yet to come”.

“Today, we bury this capsule. We do so in a time of transformation. Education is changing, not only in technology, but in purpose. The Ministry of Educational Transformation is inviting us to see schools not just as places of learning, but as places of becoming. We are learning how to teach the whole child, mind, heart and spirit. It is not always easy, but it is necessary,” she stated.

Principal Jones read a letter, which she penned to the future principal and members of the school. “I write this with a heavy heart, knowing that I may never meet you. The principal who will open this letter, our paths may never cross, yet our hearts are linked by the shared calling. We are both a part of this long, beautiful legacy of service, leadership and hope. I wonder, what does your world look like? What do your students dream of? How have we grown? What have we held on to? What have we let go of? Whatever the answers, I hope this remains true that this school is a place of light and love, a place where children are seen, where joy is loud, and where every teacher remembers why they chose this path.”

She advised the future principal to lead gently and bravely. “Some days will stretch you, others will lift you up, but every day you will be part of something sacred.

“And so I send you this blessing from one principal to another. May you have wisdom when the road is unclear, courage when the road is steep, compassion in every decision and joy in the journey… Take care of this place we love. Add your chapter to the story. Know that across the years, you are not alone. We are with you, cheering you on and believing in you.”

In his remarks, former student, community leader, and founder/CEO of Jackman Professional Accounting Inc., Barry Jackman, acknowledged that his success was a direct result of the dedication, love, and the work instilled by the teachers at the West Terrace Primary school.

“West Terrace Primary School has given so much to many of my friends, my family, my brother, Brandon … and many more friends and family you know, all the way from Haynesville to Cave Hill…. West Terrace has played a crucial role in educating this entire community, of which I was very blessed to attend,” he said.

Mr.  Jackman reminded the students that anything is possible because they are at the right institution, and have the right support, structure, teachers. He encouraged them to always dream big and aim for the stars.

“We never thought that we could achieve the things we could achieve, but we had a dream. I must stress, though, that none of it comes without hard work, sacrifice, dedication, diligence and discipline. So, if you’re going to be exceptional, you cannot expect to give out an ordinary effort and receive an extraordinary result, right?

“So, be prepared to work a little harder, practise a little more. If you’re playing sports, study a little longer, train a little more, put in a little extra at a time. It seems painful, but I can assure you, it will all be worth it at the end,” he encouraged. 

Student council representatives at the school, Nyah Williams and Skylar Yearwood, revealed the contents of the capsule, which include pictures of the school, its athletic teams, staff, awards, trophies, certificates, newspaper articles showcasing the school’s successes for 2025, letters to future students, books read, and examples of the schools uniforms and school crest.  (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands (second from right) poses with (from left to right)Headboy and Headgirl of the West Terrace Primary School, Ethan Small and Rhema Jae-Greene; former student and community leader, Barry Jackman; and Principal, Charmain Jones, before the burial of the time capsule.