Contributions are required for each “contribution week” - a period of seven days, from Monday to Sunday. Payments are based on the wages earned during the week, up to a ceiling of $400.
Contributions are to be paid monthly, and should be received into the Board by the 15th day of the month following the month they were due.
“EMPLOYED PERSONS”: Contributions are to be deducted from the employed person’s wages before they are paid. Deductions are payable from the very first salary payment - even if the worker is serving out a “probationary period”. Contributions not deducted at the time they were due, cannot be reclaimed from employees’ future earnings. The employer is solely responsible for payment of arrears.
“Wages” includes only basic pay (inclusive of pay in lieu of notice); compensations such as bonuses, overtime, severance pay and tips, are not considered wages.
Contributions for persons, who are paid on a commission basis, will be based on the average weekly or monthly wage in the last year or the total wage paid in the actual week or month concerned. Contributions for persons paid on a daily or piece-work basis, will be based either on the basic amount paid for similar work, or on the total cash amount paid for the actual week or month - whichever is less.
An employed person with a weekly average insured income of less than $60, pays 1.7 % of his/her salary while the employer pays 7.1%; and a person with a weekly average insured income of $60 to $400, pays 3.4% while the employer pays 5.4%.
“SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS”: There are two classes of Self-Employed persons: “A” and “B”.
Persons in class “A” pay contributions at a rate of 6.8%, while persons in Class “B” pay 8.8%, of their average insured income, up to the ceiling of $400.
A self-employed person must determine at the beginning of each year, what his/her income level for the payment of contributions will be that year.
PENSIONABLE CIVIL SERVANTS: Because of the integration of the Government’s pension plan with the National Insurance pension plan, civil servants who are eligible for pensions out of the Consolidated Fund, are required to pay less in to National Insurance for Retirement and Invalidity Benefits. Their contributions are based on a combination of $110 (reduced for the two long-term benefits), and $400 (the insurable wage ceiling for all other benefits).
PERSONS WITH DUAL EMPLOYMENT: Only one contribution payment is required for a worker during any contribution week, therefore, persons with two or more employers are only required to have contributions paid for them, by the “principal” employer. The principal employer is, generally, the first employer to whom the worker reports, or the employer who pays the wages first during a contribution week.
PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF RETIREMENT BENEFIT: A person age 60 to 69, who is in receipt of Retirement Benefit, may return/continue to work and receive the benefit, as long as he/she earns no more than $200 per week.
Additionally, persons age 70 years and older may work and receive Retirement Benefit no matter what they earn. In the case of self-employed persons, however, they must have initially retired from, and then returned to gainful employment to qualify. In either case, reduced contributions must be paid. For employed persons, only the employer pays his portion of the contributions; in the case of self-employed persons, the contribution rates are reduced by 3.4 percent.
VOLUNTARILY INSURED PERSONS: An unemployed person, who previously contributed to National Insurance, may apply for permission to pay contributions voluntarily. Contributions are paid at a rate of 5 percent, of the individual’s average weekly earnings, based on his/her last year of employment. Contributions are due before June 30th of each year.