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What Does NIS in Jamaica Mean?
NIS in Jamaica means National Insurance Scheme, which is a social security scheme. Social security usually means a government system that provides monetary assistance to the people and these people usually have low to no income. In order to provide this financial assistance, the government has to get the money from somewhere…this is where you come in. They call it NIS contributions and they are mandatory for all working Jamaicans: employees & self-employed…you can even volunteer to make contributions (but that’s not the focus of this article).
The NIS is administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
What is the NIS Contribution in Jamaica?
As of April 2022, the NIS Contribution is 6%. This is split equally between the employer and the employee; therefore, your employer must contribute an amount that is equal to 3% of your gross pay to the National Insurance Scheme (N.B. this does not come out of your pay, this comes out of your company’s pocket) and you, the employee, must contribute 3% of your gross pay to this scheme (yes, this comes out of your pocket).
If you are self-employed, you contribute the full 6% (hush yaw, neva mind).
N.B. There is a NIS Wage Ceiling, which indicates the maximum amount of money to which the 6% can be applied. This is further explained below.
What is the NIS Ceiling in Jamaica?
Currently, the NIS Ceiling is at JMD$5,000,000 per year. Therefore, the highest amount that anybody can contribute towards the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is 6%*$5,000,000 = $300,000 for the year. So, if your annual salary is greater than $5,000,000 (yeah you!), you still won’t pay more than the $300,000 for the year.
Jamaican Employees & NIS Contributions
It is your right to check with any NIS Office island-wide (you can do this once a year) to ensure that the company that employs you is actually paying over your NIS contributions and that they are paying over the right amount. Companies can be sued for not doing this. This is very important, as you do not want to reach retirement age and then hear that no contributions were ever made on your behalf.
You can use the Salary Calculator here to get an idea of what your salary should look like (every week, fortnight or month…depending on how often you get paid) and this calculator will give you an idea of the amount of NIS that should be paid over on your behalf.
It is very important that you keep track of your money. Pay attention to all your earnings, as well as all the taxes/deductions that are taken out. Ensure that all amounts are correct. You work hard to earn every dollar, therefore ensure that you get what you work so hard for. If you are not clear on something, please contact your Payroll Department for them to explain it to you…you have a right to understand what is going on with your salary.
Other resources you can check out:
If you have any queries, concerns, suggestions…or if there is a particular work-related issue you want us to address…please leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to respond in a timely manner.
Take care…and know yu rights...nuh mek dem tek yu fi eeidiot!
