Stewart Haynes leaves NIS after nearly a decade of reform and growth

Outgoing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Services – Stewart Haynes.

By Admin. Updated 11:40 a.m., Friday, May 29, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

The National Insurance Services (NIS) has credited outgoing Director and Chief Executive Officer Stewart Haynes with leading a period of significant financial growth, institutional reform and crisis management during his nearly decade-long tenure at the organisation.

In a release issued this week, the NIS said Haynes, who assumed office on February 1, 2017, inherited the institution during a period of “heightened institutional vulnerability” and later steered it through a series of major national and global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 eruptions of La Soufrière volcano and Hurricane Beryl in 2024.

According to the release, Haynes oversaw the rapid introduction of a Temporary Unemployment Benefit programme during the pandemic to assist affected workers, while maintaining the stability of the institution despite what the NIS described as severe executive attrition following the retirement of senior officials between 2019 and 2021.

The NIS said Haynes, an actuary and Chartered Financial Analyst, also presided over substantial financial growth at the organisation. The institution’s asset base reportedly increased from about EC$478 million in 2016 to EC$546 million by 2025, while annual surplus figures rose from EC$13 million in 2016 to a record EC$47 million during his tenure.

The organisation further stated that Haynes led a broad programme of pension reform and public consultation aimed at improving the long-term sustainability of the Fund. The release said earlier actuarial projections had indicated that the Fund could have been depleted between 2032 and 2037.

Among the reforms implemented in 2024 were tighter early retirement rules and an increase in the minimum pension from EC$70 to EC$80 per week, benefiting approximately 2,200 pensioners, according to the NIS.

The release added that preliminary findings from the 13th actuarial valuation now project the Fund’s sustainability through to between 2065 and 2070.

The NIS also credited Haynes with strengthening corporate governance and operational systems, including the establishment of a Risk Management Unit, the enhancement of the Human Resources Department, and efforts to modernise the institution’s digital infrastructure through a new core management system initiative.

Haynes also represented the organisation regionally and internationally, serving as the International Social Security Association’s focal point for the English-speaking Caribbean, a member of the ISSA Bureau, and Vice-Chairperson of the Technical Commission on Investment of Social Security Funds.

The NIS described Haynes’ tenure as one marked by “transformational leadership” and said he leaves behind an institution that is financially stronger, more resilient and internationally respected.

Haynes departs the organisation this month after serving as Director and Chief Executive Officer for more than nine years.

END