To be eligible for various benefits provided by the government, most workers in the UK must pay National Insurance Contributions. Eligibility for some of these benefits can depend on the level of a person's contribution record, so even if you're not working (through choice, unemployment, or sickness), it may be important to keep paying or keep your record up to date.
Most people
are automatically sent a National Insurance number shortly before their 16th
birthday, but you may need to apply for one if you don't have one. The number stays
personal to you for life, and is used by employers to pay your NI contributions,
when applying for welfare benefits or a pension, for some personal financial
matters and when registering to vote, among other things. Many people will have
been issued with a plastic card (like a credit card) with their number on, as
pictured.
Yes, that
really is our National Insurance card! 🐝
National
Insurance cards like ours are no longer issued. If you have an older card, your
National Insurance number itself remains the same and normally stays with you
for life.
To find out
more about:
• National Insurance generally
• How to apply for a National Insurance Number
(NINO) if you don't already have one
• How to find a previously issued number if
you've lost track of it
...head to gov.uk's
National Insurance guidance.
Q: So why does Student Finance need your National Insurance Number and
why will they refuse to release your loan if you don't provide one?
A: Your
National Insurance number helps Student Finance verify your identity and is
used to link your student finance record with information held by other
government departments. It is also important for administering student loan
repayments.
When
repayment of student loans became dependent on a graduate's earnings after
leaving their course, the government needed a way to recover the loans from
students' income. Rather than reinvent the wheel, it used the already-existing
system that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses to collect income tax from employees. Because student loan
repayments are income-contingent, and HMRC is the organisation used to collect
them, it's often said that repaying a student loan is a bit like being taxed as
a graduate.
Previous full-time students who borrowed loans
from Student Finance become liable to start repaying it in the April after leaving their course, once their income is over the applicable repayment threshold for their
student loan plan.
Your student loan repayment is separate from
your National Insurance contributions. If you're employed, your employer uses
the PAYE system to calculate any student loan repayment due from your salary.
The repayment is based on your income and the threshold that applies to your
particular student loan plan. HMRC collects the payment and passes the relevant
information to the Student Loans Company so your repayment record can be updated. You can check your own
repayment record via your online account.
Student
Finance may not release your student loan payments until the required
information has been provided to allow the loan to be recovered later,
including your National Insurance number. That's a prudent approach because
students can withdraw from a course at any point, so their liability to start
repaying isn't always years in the future.
As with any
student finance matter, the detail is more complex than this summary. Different
rules apply for certain courses, and for those who are self-employed or living
overseas after leaving their course. Seek advice if your are unable to resolve a NI matter yourself.
If you want
to read more detailed information about repaying student loans, gov.uk's
repaying your student loan guide is kept up
to date and covers England and Wales.
What if Student Finance says my National
Insurance number is wrong?
If
you've checked that you've entered the number correctly, but Student Finance
still says there's a problem, you'll need to contact Student Finance England
rather than applying for another number
See
Gov.UK – Find my
National Insurance Number
What if I can't find my National Insurance
number?
See
Gov.UK – Find my
National Insurance Number
What if I don’t have a National Insurance
Number?
See
Gov.UK – Apply
for a National Insurance Number
