Employees National Insurance Contributions

National Insurance Contributions (NIC's)is a mandatory wage deduction which is used to fund certain state benefits such as your pension.

There are two types of National Insurance Contributions, those made by the employee and those by the employer, you can read about Employers NIC's here.

From the age of 16 to Pensionable age, employees and employed people pay National Insurance Contributions (NIC), providing their salary reaches a certain level.

Can I reduce my National Insurance Payments?

There are a number of legal and legitimate ways of reducing the amount of NIC that your pay, read this article for examples of how you can pay less NIC..

Who has to pay National Insurance?

• All those who are employed and under the Pension Age (currently under 65 years of age)
• All self-employed under the Pension Age (currently 65 years of age and over pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions
• All self-employed over the Pension Age (currently 65 years of age pay Class 4 National Insurance Contributions

What are voluntary National Insurance Contributions?

Certain individuals elect to pay voluntary NIC's when they are not required, in their current circumstance, to pay National Insurance Contributions.

Individuals may elect to pay NIC's because:

• They haven't paid sufficient NIC's in previous years and need to 'top up' their contributions in order to qualify for a state pension or other state benefits.
• They are not working and not claiming any State Benefits.
• They are Living and working overseas but wish to maintain their State Benefits entitlement.