National
Insurance (NI) goes in to a Government holding account, and is
used to pay for Government benefits, such as Living allowances for
the
unemployed, housing benefits, and so on. Unfortunately, as a non-resident
we are unable to claim for these benefits, so it's best just to think
of it as
another tax. We are entitled to use
the National Health Service
(NHS) for free
however, so is not all bad news.
Is
generally 10% of your wage for employees, and employers contribute
12.2%. National
insurance payments are obligatory, and you will need to obtain a National
Insurance Number
in person.
National
Insurance offices are dotted all around London, call the phone directory
for your nearest
office, and be prepared to wait - it will generally take at least
half a day! If you commence work
before obtaining your number from and NI office, you can use a temporary
number, which consists of:
- TN (stands
for Temporary Number)
- The six digits
of your birthdate
- And an M
(for Male) or F (for Female)
Ie:
if you're a female and you were born on the 1st July 1971, your temporary
NI number would be:
TN 01 07 71 F.
Be
aware though - this number is used on your tax forms, and this will
impact on your personal
tax rate that is automatically deducted from your wage at each payday.
A Temporary Number
(as opposed to one allocated by a NI office) does not show what tax
bracket you are in, so you
will be paying a slightly higher rate of tax until such time you're
certified National Insurance
number is used. You can, however, claim
this excess back at the end of the year when you
put in your return.
