Every person who was an employee on 15/2/1992 and every person who becomes an employee after 15/2/1992 must register with the
National Insurance Scheme within 14 days from 15/2/1992 the start of employment.
Application for Registration
To register, the employee and the employer must complete and submit to the nearest office of the Board, the Insured Person’s Registration
Application Form. Every employee must ensure that his employer properly registers him/ her promptly within the prescribed time.
Registration Card
Once registered, the employee is allocated a national insurance number and a registration card is issued bearing his/ her name and national
insurance number. The employee is responsible for the safe custody of the registration card and must produce his card to his employer when
commencing employment with a new employer or whenever the employer requests it. Replacement cards will be issued at a fee of $5.00.
PERSONS INSURED
Persons Compulsorily Insured
The Scheme is required by law to insure every person gainfully occupied in the Islands either as an employed or self-employed person.
Employed persons are those working for an employer under a contract of service or employer-employee relationship and include employees
of the Government and apprentices. Self-employed persons are those persons who are gainfully occupied in the Islands otherwise than as
employees, that is, persons working on their own account.
Voluntary Contributors
An insured person who has paid at least 50 contributions as an employed or self-employed person can apply for a Certificate of Voluntary
Insurance which entitles him to pay Voluntary Contributions. The application for a certificate of voluntary insurance is made on Form Ins.002
and must be submitted to any office of the Board not later than the end of the contribution year which follows the year which includes the
contribution weeks for which the insured person wishes to make voluntary contributions. Failure to apply for a Certificate of Voluntary Insurance
within the prescribed time may result in the rejection of the application.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Liability for Contributions
In the case of an employee, there is liability for contribution for every week in which he receives earnings from his employer of not less than
$25.00 per week if he is a weekly-paid employee or $108.00 per month if he is a monthly paid employee. In the case of an apprentice there is
always liability irrespective of the amount of earnings. In the case of a self-employed person there is liability for contributions for every week in
which he works as a self-employed person.
Liability for contributions ceases when the insured person reaches the age of 65.
Assessment of Contributions
In the case of an employee, contributions are assessed on his / her earnings and include all payments from his employment with the
exception of ex-gratia payments. In the case of an apprentice with no earnings or with earnings below $25.00 per week, contributions are
assessed on earnings of $25.00
No contribution is payable on earnings exceeding $600.00 per week in the case of a weekly paid employee or $2,600.00 per month in the case
of a monthly paid employee. In the case of a monthly paid employee, the earnings for the month are accepted for the contribution weeks
beginning in the month for which there is liability for the payment of contributions.
In the case of a self-employed person, the contributions are assessed on the weekly income he has elected for the purpose of contributions.
The self-employed person can elect, subject to certain limitations, a weekly income of $100.00; $200.00; $400.00; or $600.00
In the case a Voluntary Contributor, the contributions are assessed on the average weekly earnings or income on which compulsory
contributions were paid or credited in the year preceding that in which the application for voluntary insurance has been made.
Rates of Contributions
In the case of employees other than public officers, the rate of contribution is 8%: 4.6% payable by the employer and 3.4% payable by the
employee. In the case of Public Officers, the rate of contribution is 6.85%: 4.025% payable by the employer and 2.825% payable by the
employee.
The rate of contribution for self-employed persons is 6.8%; voluntary contributors is 5.5%.
Payment of Contributions
In the case of employed persons, the employer has to pay his portion of contribution and that of the employee. He can deduct however, the
employee’s share from the earnings paid to the employee for the period for which the contributions are payable and not otherwise. In the case
of an apprentice earning less than $25.00 per week, the employer has to pay the total rate of contribution on the difference between the actual
earnings of the apprentice and $25.00. The employer has to pay contributions for all his employees before the end of the month following the
month in which the contribution weeks for which there is liability for contributions begin.
The self-employed person has to pay his contributions for all contribution weeks beginning in any calendar month not later than the end of the
following month.
The voluntary contributor can pay his contributions for contribution weeks beginning in any year not later than the end of the following year.
Failure to pay contributions within this prescribed time results in the cancellation of the validity of the certificate of voluntary insurance. In such
a case the insured person can apply for a new Certificate of Voluntary Insurance after he has paid 50 contributions as an employed or self-
employed person.
Contributions payable by employers, self-employed persons or voluntary contributors can be paid in cash or by cheque at any of the offices of
the Board.
Crediting of Contributions
A contribution shall be credited to an insured person:
(a) for every week after he reaches age 16 and before he attains age 23 that he is receiving full time education;
and
(b) for every week for the whole of which he is entitled to Invalidity Pension, Sickness Benefit, Maternity Allowance, Injury Benefit or
Disablement Pension for disablement assessed at 100%
A contribution credited under paragraph (a) above is assessed on earnings of $25.00, whereas a contribution credited under paragraph (b) is
assessed on the earnings on the basis of which the benefit has been paid. In addition to the above credits, special credits are awarded to
persons over the age of 48 on April 6, 1992 and to persons who become invalid.
For an insured person over the age of 48 on April 6, 1992, 50 contributions are credited for each year that his age exceeds 48 years subject to
a maximum of 350 credits. These special credits are taken into account for assessing the amount of retirement pension only and to the extent
necessary to enable the insured person to qualify for a 30% retirement pension.
In the case of invalidity or death, special credits are awarded for the contribution weeks in the period following the week of invalidity or death
until the week before the week in which the insured person would reach age 60.
These special credits are taken into account for assessing the amount of pension only and are not taken into account for determining eligibility
to the pension.
BENEFITS
Types of Benefits
The Scheme provides the following benefits:
a. Retirement Pension/Grant
b. Invalidity Pension
c. Survivors’ Pension/Grant
d. Funeral Grant
e. Sickness Benefit
f. Maternity allowance/Grant
g. Employment Injury Benefit which includes:-
- Injury benefit
- Disablement benefit
- Death benefit
- Death grant; and
- Medical Care
- Non-Contributory Old age Pension
Employed persons are entitled to all the above mentioned benefits but Public Officers are not entitled to Sickness Benefit and Maternity
Allowance.
Self-employed persons are entitled to Sickness Benefit, Retirement Pension or Grant, Invalidity Pension, Survivors’ Pension or Grant, and
Funeral Grant.
Voluntary Contributors are entitled to all self employed person's benefits mentioned above except for Sickness Benefit.
Head Office:
P.O. Box 250
Misick's Building
Grand Turk
Tel: (649) 946-1048/9
Fax (649) 946-1362
Email: nib@tciway.tc
