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 and 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
- 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 reach 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.
gov.je