Prime Minister Briceno Confirms Dr. Leroy Almendarez as New SSB CEO

Prime Minister John Briceno has confirmed the appointment of Dr Leroy Almendarez as the new CEO for the Social Security Board (SSB).  According to the PM, the post was advertised after Deborah Ruiz’ indicated that she was not interested in renewing her contract.  As Dr Almendarez prepares to take over, one of the key things that the PM noted was the need for the SSB’s monies to be invested to avoid increasing the employees’ or employers’ contributions.  

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “They went through a long process of the post was advertised, first of all I want to put on record my appreciation for Ms.Ruiz who has been at the, almost all of her professional life at Social Security and the work that she has done over the years and here at the CEO position. After the lengthy process of advertisements and screening and then interviewing they have chosen Dr.Leroy Almendarez who has been at the helm of Beltraide who has been doing a fantastic job. Whilst I feel sad that we’re losing him there at Beltraide we are happy that he’s going to Social Security to continue to manage one of the most important institutions in the country with the largest trust fund, the worker’s monies.”

Ruiz spent a total of 42 years at SSB.  She served as the Acting CEO from 2019 to 2021 and was officially given the substantive title in August 2021.  Her contract with SSB expires this month./