National Insurance Contributions
Treasury
Written answers and statements, 12 October 2009
Jim Dowd (Lewisham West, Labour)
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward measures to make national insurance contributions cumulative from each employment up to the maximum income level.
Stephen Timms (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; East Ham, Labour)
In October 2007 the Treasury published a report Income tax and National Insurance alignment: an evidence-based assessment. It is available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr07_income.htm
The report noted that changing to a National Insurance system in which earnings were cumulated across all employment for those with more than one job would allow a small number of individuals (currently estimated at around 40,000) to gain access to contributory benefits. However others, including some low earners, would lose out by having to pay more National Insurance Contributions. The report considered more widely aligning the administration of National Insurance Contributions with that of income tax. The Government's conclusion in the Report was that on balance the benefits of administrative alignment did not outweigh the costs.