Mr. Timothy Hodge is the only Anguillian who has been the Director of Social Security for forty years – a distinction he quietly observed on Monday, February 1. Further, he is the longest-serving person in that position in the Caribbean, if not in the world.
Still a very young and energetic man, completing a PhD degree at the University of the Virgin Islands, Tim Hodge spoke to The Anguillian newspaper on Sunday, January 31, at the Hilltop Baptist Church, where he has a leading ministerial role.
“When I started to work at Social Security, I had just turned 19 and the first of February, 1981, was my first day,” he recalled. “What I remember most of all is that when I went to the office, it was in the brand new building which now houses the Treasury Department and the IT Department. The Social Security Office there had never been used. There was absolutely nothing there except the Social Security Act, on the desk, which was passed on November 3rd, 1980. The Act was essentially copied from the British Virgin Islands’ Social Security Legislation.
“I went off to St. Kitts on a six-week attachment with the Social Security Office there to learn about how its law and social security system functioned. When I came back to Anguilla, as the first employee of our social security system, I was asked to bring it into existence. The first thing I did was to work with the regulations and to adapt them to be fit for Anguilla – and for the figures to make sense in Anguilla’s currency as opposed to the US currency in the BVI.
“During the course of the year, we had additional staff and we went out with a lot of forms, and our public relations materials, telling the people what social security was about. On January 1st, 1982, we actually started the social security system. Within eleven months, without any external assistance, other than the attachment in St. Kitts, and later on a one-month attachment in Antigua, that was it.
“We did not have any funds, other than we borrowed 28,000 dollars from another Government subhead that was transferred to social security. From the first contributions which were collected in January 1982, we paid back the Government – so we were not any burden to the Treasury, and had never been, and we did not have any foreign technical assistance from the ILO as was the case in other social security systems. We began to serve the people of Anguilla from the first of January, 1982. February 1st, 2021, marks 40 years since I started to work with the Anguilla social security system as the first employee.”
Pausing to answer The Anguillian newspaper’s question, Tim Hodge continued: “What social security means to me after forty years? It means a great deal. Essentially I keep saying that when all of us work in social security, we are doing God’s work. We are taking care of others who are unable to take care of themselves at some point in life – whether old age, disability, sickness or maternity. Whatever the circumstance is, the social security system is there to provide benefits to them. I thank God that we have been able to do this for over forty years.
Reserves of EC 400 Million
“There are talks every now and then about social security is broke – and whatever else. This is really not true because the social security system has reserves of about 400 million dollars. I did a quick calculation as follows: 400 million dollars divided by 15,000 people is exactly 10,000 US dollars per person. Every man, woman, boy and girl in Anguilla gets 10,000 US dollars, or 26,700 EC dollars, on his or her account – you can say. I don’t know how some people can say social security is broke when it has those reserves. Further, those reserves are for persons in the future. The social security system is ‘a pay as you go’ system. We just had here, at this church, a service for retired persons of Anguilla. Their pensions are going to be paid by those of us who are still working. When I retire, and when people of my age retire, then our children will be paying contributions. That is how the system works. It is ‘a pay as you go’ system. It was never intended to say your pension is going to be 100 dollars therefore there must be 100 in the fund. That’s not the case. Your pension is going to be paid out over time as you live and go on to retirement in your golden years – and somebody will be helping to pay contributions for your benefits. That’s the way the system is set up. It is actuarially sound. That is the way it was set up and the way it functions. By the way, I must say here that we have exceeded expectations of our actuarial model. The model is that generally income equals outgo. That is the money that comes in equals the money that goes out after about twenty-five years. We are at forty years now and we still have not reached that point.”
Tim Hodge was so absorbed in telling the social security story that The Anguillian was hardly able to ask him a follow-up question. When the opportunity came, he was asked about when he went from being a lone employment to when other persons became involved.
Assistance from Board
“I was the first employee, but there was a Social Security Board,” he acknowledged. “The Board comprised Mr. Colville Petty, as the Director; Mr. Fabian Fahie, Chairman; Mr. Frank Richardson (deceased), member; Allister Richardson, member; and Pastor Davis Lloyd, member. My appointment was Administration Officer and the staff member carrying forward the policies of the Board. The Board helped to set up the path that the social security system would follow – and it gave me great guidance and tutorship. Mr. Petty was a full-time Permanent Secretary but, as much as he could, he gave me leadership and guidance. Mr. Fahie, who was also in the same administrative building, gave me much guidance as well.”
Personal Achievements
He continued: “As a young man, it was always my intention to go off to university. Every time I thought about going to university, I thought if I go and social security is not up and running properly, and it failed, then that would be on me; so I kept reneging until the time came. I got married and had a child. Then I said I had to go, and so I did a Bachelor’s degree and some years later a Master’s degree; and now I am completing a PhD as well.
“I have always been concerned about being able to deliver the best I could, and I used the opportunity I had to improve myself. That was not for me alone. It was for all my staff – to encourage them to pursue higher education. I am very proud that among them there are many members of staff who have completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and even a PhD as well. That is something which I have always been very committed to –people’s personal development so that they could give the best of themselves, and their service, to the social security system and their country.”
Tim Hodge became Director of Social Security on April 16, 1986, five years after he started to work there.
Regional and International Positions
“This makes me the longest-serving Director of Social Security in the Caribbean, and I suspect in the world as well,” he chuckled. “The highest position I hold among regional social security systems, is that I represent the Caribbean’s social security systems on the Inter-American Conference on Social Security which has its headquarters in Mexico. It covers the entire Americas: Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. I am the Coordinator of Sub-region 4 which includes the United States, Canada and the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. So I am actually the Head of this part of the organisation.
“I am also a Vice President of a Technical Commission with the International Social Security Association which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. So my services and expertise are also being utilised internationally as well.”
Tim became a social security employee in Anguilla at the age of 19, and is to retire when he makes 60. Despite the stresses and vicissitudes of life, he almost looks as young as he was when he was a teenager. “I am in my last year and will retire on my next birthday,” he laughed.
Before then, “Tim-Tim”, as he is affectionately called, will have achieved his well-deserved PhD degree, with all its academic merits, honours and privileges. He will also have finally achieved his own ambition and goal for higher education.
