SSB Brings Services to Your Fingertips

The digitalisation, or digital transformation, of companies and businesses in Belize has been setting the pace over the last few years across many sectors, and the Social Security Board (SSB) is no exception. Today, SSB’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Leroy Almendarez, told News 5 that the SSB’s services are now literally at your fingertips.

“Even though we have nine branches across the country, it would be easier if anyone could just sit at their laptop and access our services… right at your fingertips,” Almendarez stated.

The digitalisation of SSB includes the access to create a “My Social Security Online Portal,” which is a new digital tool on the Social Security Board website. It is designed to allow employees, employers, and self-employed individuals to track their contributions, file claims, and even plan for retirement with the “touch of a button.”

Almendarez added that the digital transformation goes beyond just convenience. He said SSB is tackling long-standing challenges, such as improving claim processes for sickness benefits, streamlining employer submissions, and even allowing doctors to directly upload the required forms to the system to eliminate the need for patients to submit signed documents themselves.

“Let us say for a sickness benefit, you go to a doctor, and the doctor signs that form; there is now a portal where the medical doctor can actually upload that information. So you don’t have to really bring the doctor signs off on it after the examination,” he told News 5.

And while there are many tech-savvy people out there, what happens to those who are not quite digitally literate? Almendarez says that the SSB is offering support and guidance from trained individuals during this transition to make sure everyone can take advantage of the new system, no matter their experience with computers.

“One of the frontline agents will help you; customer service agents will also help you… in terms of how to use the system, how to even create an account,” he added.