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Government of Jerseygov.je

Information and public services for the Island of Jersey

L'înformâtion et les sèrvices publyis pouor I'Île dé Jèrri

About Social Security contributions

​What contributions are

Social Security contributions are deducted based on your salary and go into a fund that pays for: 

  • sickness and maternity benefits
  • pensions
  • health services

Who pays Social Security contributions

You must pay contributions if you're over the school leaving age on the 1 July following your GCSEs. You'll need a registration card to work.

If you are a student who is under 18 you are not liable to pay a contribution if you earn an income under the Minimum Earnings Threshold. 

If you're a student over 18 you can claim student credits.

Moving to Jersey

If you're moving to Jersey you need to tell us to​​​​​​ get a registration card. You cannot​​ work in Jersey if you do not have one.

Moving to Jersey

How to get a registration card

Help if you're not working or have a low income

Your benefits and pension will be affected if there are gaps in your contribution record. Contribution credits will help to avoid gaps in your record a​nd protect your benefits and pension.

You can get credits if you cannot pay Social Security contributions, for example, if you're:

If you're not working, your income is too low, or you are not getting credits you can also top up your contributions with Class 2 contributions to avoid gaps in your contribution record.

If you cannot pay Class 2 contributions then you may be able to claim low income contribution relief. This will not give you a credit, but it does exempt you from paying contributions.

Contribution classes

There are 2 different types of contribution are Class 1 and Class 2. The type you pay depends on your employment status.

Class 1 contributions

You pay Class 1 contributions if you’re employed and earn the minimum earnings threshold or more. You'll only get a full credit on your contribution record if your monthly earnings are £1,164 or more.

The amount of Class 1 contributions you pay are based on how much you earn. They are made of 2 elements:

  • primary contribution of 6% paid by employees
  • secondary contribution of 6.5% paid by employers

Your employer will deduct the primary contribution from your wages and pay that to Social Security together with the secondary contribution.

Minimum Earnings Threshold (MET)

If your monthly earnings are below £553 per month you do not pay primary or secondary contributions from this job.

Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)

If your monthly earnings from all employment is less than £1,164, your contribution will not be enough to claim benefits or a pension. You'll need to top up your contributions with Class 2 contributions.

Standard Earnings Limit (SEL)

If your monthly earnings are between the Lower Earnings Limit of £1,164 and Standard Earnings Limit of £5,450 you'll be making full contributions.

Contribution calculator

Use the contributions calculator to find out how much your contributions are.

Contributions calculator

Class 2 contributions

You must pay Class 2 contributions if you:

  • are self-employed
  • are paid through your own company
  • spouse of a Class 2 business or ​company owner
  • are not employed
  • do not earn enough through your employer to cover your contributions

Class 2 contributions are made of both primary and secondary contributions.

Find out more details about Class 2 Social Security contributions.

​Exempt from paying contributions

Depending on your circumstances you may be exempt from paying contributions (SSIE) or be able to protect your contributions record.​

If your earnings from 2 years ago were less than the lower earnings limit you will get a letter confirming you are exempt from paying contributions. This means you will have a gap in your contribution history and this may effect your pension and eligibility for benefits.

You can either take the exemption or contact us pay the current standard contribution rate to protect your contribution record.   

Working for more than 1 employer

If you work for more than 1 employer and earn the minimum earnings threshold or above in each job, your total earnings from all your employers will be taken into account. You'll receive a Class 1 statement if you have any outstanding contributions.

Working outside of Jersey

If you work for a short time outside the Island for your Jersey employer, your contributions must be taken from your wages as if you're working in Jersey. There are different time limits depending on where they temporarily work. You should ask your employer to contact us to check.

If you're liable to pay, we can issue you a Certificate of Continued Liability so you can prove that you're paying contributions in Jersey.

Missing contributions

You’ll receive a missing contributions letter if we notice a gap in your contributions record.

Depending on your circumstances you’ll need to take different actions.

Find further details on missing Social Security contributions.

Overpaid contributions

If you overpaid contributions we’ll automatically refund you at the end of each quarter. For example, sickness credits have resulted in an overpayment of your contributions.

Refunds are sent directly to the individual.

When you stop paying

You stop paying social security contributions when you re​ach the state pension age.

Opting out of contributions

You can opt out of paying contributions when you are over the age of 60.

To find out what age you can opt to opt out of paying contributions and to apply, complete the online form below. Your rights to benefits may be affected, so please get advice first.

Apply to opt out of paying contributions

Going back to work if you opted out of contributions

Talk to us as soon as possible if you start to work again either part or full time. You may need to pay contributions again.

You cannot back-pay contributions to cover any time you decided not to pay contributions.

Starting to receive your Jersey state pension

You do not have to pay contributions from the month after you start receiving your pension.

If you’re still working you do not pay primary contributions but your employer must still pay the secondary contributions.

If you have a blue registration card when you reach pension age take it to Customer and Local Services to exchange it for a red card. The red card shows your employer that they should not deduct primary contributions from your earnings.

Temporary secondments to Jersey

If you're working on a secondment in Jersey, you must register with CLS and provide a letter of secondment from your employer.

If you’re on secondment in Jersey for a Jersey registered company, you would not pay contributions in Jersey. You would need to provide us a Certificate of Continued Liability. Find more information on moving to Jersey: documents to bring.

If you become a Jersey resident you would need to pay contributions.

How to get a registration card

Being in prison or legal custody

If you’re in prison or legal custody and you continue to receive a salary from an employer, both you and your employer have to pay contributions.

If you’re not receiving a salary, you or your employer will not have to pay contributions for any month you’re in prison or legal custody.

Married woman's election

Paying contributions as a married woman

If you were married and living in Jersey before 1 April 2001, you can apply for a married woman’s election. This means you can choose to pay contributions or not.

If you choose not to pay contributions:

  • your contributions will not be deducted from your wages if you work for an employer 
  • you do not have to pay Class 2 contributions when you do not work
  • your pension will rely on your husband's contribution record. When you claim married allowance, Revenue Jersey will also treat this income as your husband's
  • your contributory benefits will be affected

Applying for a married woman’s election

You can only choose once to opt out from the Social Security scheme. However, you can choose at any point to start paying contributions again.

You must fully understand how your right to claim benefits may be affected when you choose to stop paying contributions. For more information contact us.

You’ll need to provide your original marriage certificate if we do not have a verified copy on our record.

Apply for a married woman's election

Changes in circumstances

Tell us as soon as possible if you separate or get divorced.

Where your contributions go

Find out more about the fund and how the money is used on Social Security statistics.

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