Self-Employed Persons Urged to Make NIS Contributions

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier has urged self-employed persons to participate in the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), in order to access loans under the National Insurance Fund Credit Facility.
“Jamaica, like other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America has a situation where large segments of the population are without social security coverage because of the high level of informal economy activity. In our case, some 53 per cent of the labour force operates in the informal economy. As a result, thousands of self-employed persons are reaching retirement age without access to adequate health and pension benefits,” he said.
Mr. Kellier was speaking on Thursday (November 2) at the launch of the National Insurance Fund Credit Facility at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston, where some $420 million was disbursed to eight public and private sector Approved Financial Institutions for on-lending to assist small, and medium size business enterprises (SMEs).
He pointed out that those self-employed persons, who wanted to participate in the NIS were required to make a minimal contribution of $1,040 per year. “After making these contributions, and on reaching the pensionable age, they receive all the applicable benefits such as old age and invalidity pensions. These benefits are also payable to the named beneficiaries”. The benefits, which are provided under the National Insurance Scheme include: retirement benefits, invalidity, employment injury, employment injury disablement, employment injury death, maternity, special anniversary, death, and funeral grants.