Across the globe, governments have long recognized the importance of ensuring that their citizens have some measure of financial security in retirement or in times of unforeseen hardship. Two primary models have been historically dominant in providing such protection: provident funds and social security systems. Though both aim to support workers financially, they differ in their structural underpinnings, their mechanisms for contribution and payout, and how risk is distributed among participants. In the Caribbean, many countries have undertaken a major transition over the past few decades—shifting from provident funds to more comprehensive social security or national insurance schemes. This blog post examines the differences between these two systems, the reasons behind the Caribbean transition, the technicalities involved in converting one type of fund to another, and how platforms like Interact SSAS can facilitate the ongoing administration of legacy provident fund claims even after the national system has morphed into social...