Promoting a culture of saving among Jamaicans has been a major focus of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), with special emphasis on the benefits that can be derived by contributors in later years.

Investing as little as $50 weekly can guarantee a secure future for unemployed persons, while employed persons can reap rewarding benefits from a 2.5 per cent deduction from their gross salary, which is contributed to the NIS.

Acting director of the NIS, Portia Magnus, said that since 1966, the NIS, which falls under the umbrella of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has been providing a variety of benefits for employed, self-employed and voluntary contributors.

"The scheme mainly caters to Jamaicans between the age of 18 to 70 years, and the NIS is committed to securing the future of this target group. Based on the 2007 data received from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), there is an indication that only 32 per cent of the working age population is currently contributing to the scheme," she points out.

Realising the dire need for more persons to contribute to the NIS, Magnus says an aggressive public education campaign is ongoing for the month of November and onwards, as a step to increase the level of contribution from 32 per cent to 85 per cent by 2030.

She points out that the scheme provides retirement, invalidity, special child, orphan, maternity and employment injury benefits; funeral grant, health insurance plan, and widower's/widow's pension.

additional benefits

"Looking at the range of benefits, I see the NIS growing from strength to strength. We have improved in terms of providing additional benefits, but more persons need to start contributing to the scheme," Magnus emphasises.

She emphasises that the NIS is taking several measures to encourage persons to start investing in the scheme, even by word of mouth.

"Oftentimes persons who have never contributed to the scheme are seeking a benefit, so we seize this as an opportunity to encourage them to start investing," Magnus said.

She is appealing to persons to visit the parish offices islandwide to learn more about the NIS, or to contact the ministry's head office at 876-922-8000-9.