National Insurance

National Insurance (NI) is a system of taxes and related social security benefits in the United Kingdom. It was first introduced in 1911, and expanded by the government of Clement Attlee in 1946. The tax component of the system consists of taxes paid by employees and employers on weekly earnings and other benefits-in-kind; the self-employed are taxed based upon profits. Such taxes are said to be National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The benefit component of the system is a number of contributory benefits, that is ones where the claimant's previous contribution record determines the availability and amount of the benefit paid.