Barbados pension system, especially as it relates to the public service, is in for an overhaul.
This disclosure comes via the International Monetary Fund in its latest report on Barbados following an online review this week.
The IMF notes that an actuarial review of the civil service pension system was completed in November last year and provides the basis for upcoming public pension reform.
New laws are also expected to be passed in later this month to ensure greater fairness, integrity and transparency in how government hands out contracts.
Meantime, the IMF states that the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on Barbados, with the economy estimated to have contracted by about 18 percent in 2020.
And while a gradual recovery is projected to start this year, the IMF notes that tourism arrivals remain at a fraction of normal levels, and recent increases in COVID-19 cases in key source markets, will likely delay the recovery.
In addition, the IMF expects that the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Barbados that led to the ongoing lockdown that will reduce economic activity in the first quarter of this year.
On the positive side, the IMF reported that despite this very challenging environment, Barbados continued to make good progress in implementing its economic reform program and continues to meet key IMF targets with the foreign exchange reserves remaining strong.
