After 23 years of dedicated service to the National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago (NIBTT), including 12 years at the organization’s helm as executive director, Niala Persad-Poliah has formally confirmed her early retirement from the role, effective December 13, 2026.
The retirement announcement came via a formal letter addressed to NIBTT Chairman Judy Kalloo, dated one day prior to public confirmation. In the correspondence, Persad-Poliah framed her decision as the outcome of extensive careful reflection, emphasizing that her decades of work with the state social insurance agency had been a profound privilege.
“This decision was a difficult one and was made after careful reflection. It has been a privilege to serve the organisation, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to its mandate and strategic direction,” Persad-Poliah wrote in the letter. She added that throughout her entire tenure, her core priorities remained centered on delivering high-quality service to the agency’s beneficiaries and workforce, while safeguarding the long-term financial sustainability of the National Insurance Fund. “My passion has always been service to our customers and staff, and for 23 years, including 12 years as executive director, I have approached my responsibilities with a deep commitment to those we serve, and strong advocacy for the preservation of the Fund,” she stated.
To ensure uninterrupted operations for the thousands of Trinidad and Tobago residents who rely on NIBTT benefits, Persad-Poliah pledged full support for a seamless leadership transition ahead of her departure. “As I prepare to proceed on retirement, please be assured of my commitment to facilitating continuity of leadership and operations,” she added. Notably, the letter did not include any specific explanation for her choice to retire earlier than expected. When contacted via WhatsApp for additional comment, Persad-Poliah confirmed the letter was authentic but declined to share further details. As of Tuesday, repeated attempts to reach Chairman Kalloo for a response on the retirement announcement were unsuccessful.
Persad-Poliah’s career with NIBTT spans more than two decades, having first joined the organization in 2003. Over the course of her tenure, she worked her way through a series of progressively senior leadership roles, including legal officer, Manager of Legal Services, Executive Manager, Corporate Secretary with oversight for corporate communications, and Deputy Executive Director, before being appointed to the top executive role on December 2, 2014. She succeeded former executive director Karen Gopaul in the position.
Persad-Poliah’s departure comes at a critical juncture for NIBTT, which has been grappling with growing financial strain driven by shifting demographic patterns and steadily increasing benefit payout costs. Data from the agency’s recently released 2025 annual report shows that total National Insurance Fund reserves stood at TT $27.36 billion as of June 30, 2025, representing a 2.6% decline from the TT $28.09 billion recorded at the same point the previous year. Total agency assets also fell over the 12-month period, dropping 2.32% from TT $28.47 billion in 2024 to TT $27.81 billion in 2025.
Despite the overall decline in total reserves and assets, NIBTT saw a welcome rebound in contribution income during the 2025 fiscal year. In her introductory remarks to the annual report, Persad-Poliah highlighted the agency’s resilience in the face of ongoing headwinds, noting that contribution income rose 5.3% year-over-year to hit TT $5 billion. “This growth, alongside a steady rise in long-term beneficiaries and benefit recipients more generally, reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting working persons and their dependants with relevant social insurance benefits,” she wrote.
The annual report also confirmed that the total number of benefit recipients across all programs grew by 4,104, or 1.81%, to reach 230,722 in FY 2025, up from 226,618 in the prior fiscal year. Even with the solid growth in contribution income, however, the revenue gain was not large enough to offset the consistent expansion of benefit expenditure that has plagued the system for more than a decade. “Despite the growth in Contribution Income, demographic trends continue to exert pressure on the National Insurance System (NIS). The increased number of beneficiaries relative to contributors has resulted in Benefit Expenditure consistently exceeding Income since FY 2013,” Persad-Poliah explained in the report. For the 2025 fiscal year, NIBTT recorded a total revenue-expenditure shortfall of TT $1.6 billion.