uk national insurance need some information

i am a self employed steel erector,i have to pay national insurance at about £30 quarterly,i know this is not alot of money at all but my question is...do i have to pay this?and if i dont what are the reprocutions if i dont?? it is classed as a national insurance "CONTRIBUTION" now i am by no means very clever but i understand the meaning of the word contribution,i havent paid it for quite a while i "owe" about £200, i have the odd letters asking me to pay my contribution but what if i dont want to contribute? what are your thoughts on this guys? i really dont understand it at all so if you could explain it in a simple way i would be very greatful,

reply to post by girdermonkey84

hi girdermonkey
if i were you i would pay it asap as well as setting up a direct debit for the future. the national insurance contribution will give you a state pension upon retirement (hopefully!). if it isn't paid then you will get a reduced income when you come down from the columns. whatever you and i as well as others who are self employed get when we 'retire' is in the lap of the gods. i know of a builder who hasn't paid his for several years and recently he had trouble accessing benefits when sick. they apparently make you aware of your shortfalls with regards to ni contributions in most government departments.
f

Originally posted by fakedirt
reply to post by girdermonkey84

 

hi girdermonkey
if i were you i would pay it asap as well as setting up a direct debit for the future. the national insurance contribution will give you a state pension upon retirement (hopefully!). if it isn't paid then you will get a reduced income when you come down from the columns. whatever you and i as well as others who are self employed get when we 'retire' is in the lap of the gods. i know of a builder who hasn't paid his for several years and recently he had trouble accessing benefits when sick. they apparently make you aware of your shortfalls with regards to ni contributions in most government departments.
f

thankyou for your reply,when you say "hopefully" does that mean if i and you and others make it to the retirement age? do you know what "on the books" workers get pension wise compared to self employed workers?i know what you are saying about your freind as a few years back i and several others had no work and we tried to get help benefits wise and got nowhere with it,they didnt want to know because we were self employed,at the time i was up to date with everything all my stamps were paid the lot and still i could get no help,thats when i started to get the "why should i" attitude, have you experienced this sort of treatment to the self employed of the country?im pretty sure its a widespread problem,im still not convinced i should pay a penny and cant find any info on just how much it will effect my pension? if i ever get that far,thanks

reply to post by girdermonkey84


double-barrelled answer here. 'if' we get to retirement age and 'if' the system has not imploded by then.
on the books workers have a higher rate contribution taken out of their earnings for a start. they may also be signed up to a private pension scheme with their employer however this is doubtful in a majority of firms now due to costings and also the nature of what you and i do is transitional where firms fold, the pension contributions are followed on or transferred to another scheme (which increases the admin costs thus reducing the final amount even further).
there is a scheme coming into force very soon. it is called 'nest'.google it. this is a compulsary scheme requiring employers to start pension schemes and both employee and employer are required to contribute. the monies will be pooled into the markets to gamble with so the outcome is uncertain as to what will be the end amount received. some of the admin and bosses are of dubious tenureship with respect to firms and organisations they ran or were employed by. the costings and admin for this scheme are rising as we speak as it seems everyone is jumping in on this gravy train at the mo . personally i think this is a bad idea but with the absence of any other choice other than a private scheme it may reap a few extra pennies to help by the zimmer frame (basic model without the go -faster stripes).
i would advise you to at the very least pay your ni contributions to receive the basic state pension.
with regards to self-employment, one can be and has been shafted by the ruling bodies but hey, i make the decisions with regards to my work choices and there is no amount of money out there that will convince me to work for someone else. i am the boss period.
google national insurance contributions, nest, private pension problems. that will be a lot of reading so i suggest you take a walk after every page!
don't hesitate to contact me further if you require any more info
regards f

reply to post by girdermonkey84

going to work now so catch you around dude.
2nd
f

reply to post by fakedirt


with most benefits including pension-age there's a 2 way system, NI cont based or income based, this includes JSA, ESA (sick) and state pension/guaranteed pension credit,

if on retirement you havent paid enough stamp for full state pension you are entitled to a top up of income-based pension credit. neitehr will make you comfortable in old age, state pension plus a fat works/personal pension will if you can afford to make the payments to them during your working life

any NI-based benefit is "good" - you receive back the money you contributed to the system (in theory)
inc-based is "bad" - you are a drain on the system

ok i would just like to thank you all for your "contributions" to this thread i have got all the info that i was after certainly has answerd the questions i was asking,once again you guys asstound me with your knowledge many many many thanks

reply to post by muwku


hi muwku
thanks for the added flavour. i am up to date with ni and i made the decision many years ago to not retire. i love what i do so i will continue till i die.
f

reply to post by girdermonkey84

you are welcome girdermonkey, keep a level head on the steels!
2nd
f

Originally posted by girdermonkey84
i am a self employed steel erector,i have to pay national insurance at about £30 quarterly,i know this is not alot of money at all but my question is...do i have to pay this?and if i dont what are the reprocutions if i dont?? it is classed as a national insurance "CONTRIBUTION" now i am by no means very clever but i understand the meaning of the word contribution,i havent paid it for quite a while i "owe" about £200, i have the odd letters asking me to pay my contribution but what if i dont want to contribute? what are your thoughts on this guys? i really dont understand it at all so if you could explain it in a simple way i would be very greatful,

You don't have to pay, just don't expect me, or any other taxpayer to help you out when you have an industrial accident and are left unable to work. I would love to see an opt out option, so I don't have to fund those who are unwilling to contribute but more than willing to take.

reply to post by ProudtobeEnglish

the guy came on here to gain some knowledge on the matter, give him some slack if you please.
regarding any possible accident and sick pay, i myself was injured in an industrial accident a couple of weeks after i served my time. i was left paralysed for what seemed like an eternity, the sick pay diminished over six months to £18 per week. i lost my house and many other things. i received no state assistance for over two years as i was homeless and had never claimed any benefits in my life at the time. accured pension up to that incident was in the words of a financial adviser 'worth about the same as a roll of toilet paper' after contributing for 4 years solid on the upper tier. at the time i was contributing as much as one would receive on the dole.
after most potential employees got wind of my injuries they simply told me i was a liability. this in itself makes one feel like dirt. my only course of action was self-employment and i have no regrets about that.
eventually i was assisted by the state who pushed me to file a claim against the government for my injuries. this went on for 4+ years only to be shafted at the end by sharp lawyers. i smelt that one coming and took appropriate measures to ensue i had enough saved finance to set up business.
i would insist anyone who is unsure about ni to pay it regardless. it will be a basic amount hopefully to assist in survival in the future. the rest is up to the individual to do what they deem right.
this band of self-employed brothers and sisters to which i belong survive on feast and famine. one thing that is guaranteed, you are always busy either with work or family.
f

reply to post by fakedirt


Sorry, but when someone openly admits to not paying NI, they deserve nothing more than ire. Since it will be some other tax payer funding his healthcare and pension payments.

reply to post by ProudtobeEnglish


reading his initial post again i came to the assumption that he has lapsed in his payments probably through no work or lack of. again i re-iterate the need for him and all others to contribute and monies should be set aside for this scheme. priorities for me are 1. settle all bills. 2. keep wifey and family happy. 3.find some time for my interests.
i understand your frustration especially with reports about people arriving in the uk with nothing and then living off the state whilst doing other questionable things. it rubs me up too. i would say that anyone who wishes to receive state assistance no matter what nationality should be ready to attend work/education programs and be available for any task including dog whippie patrol.
f