What is National Insurance?
[[File:National_Insurance_Act,_1911.jpg|thumb]] '''National Insurance''' was the beginning of the [[welfare state]] in the United Kingdom. It was started by the National Insurance Act 1911. The idea of insurance was attractive to [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]] because it kept individual responsibility. In Britain there were flat rate contributions and flat rate benefits. In Europe both contributions and benefits were generally relative to the workers normal pay.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ogus |first1=A |last2=Barendt |first2=E M |title=The Law of Social Security |date=1988 |publisher=Butterworths |location=London |isbn=0406063370 |page=3 |edition=3}}</ref> It has changed a great deal since then. In 1912 the workers who paid their National Insurance could visit a [[General practitioner]] and get medicine they were [[Prescription|prescribed]] without paying. But this did not include their families.<ref>{{Cite book|title=National Health Service The first thirty years|last=Abel-Smith|first=Brian|publisher=HMSO|year=1978|isbn=0113202490|location=London}}</ref> --------People are given a National Insurance number, often called a NINo, when they are 16. They must have this to get work. Workers make regular payments calculated as a fraction of their pay. The payments are collected and recorded by [[HM Revenue and Customs]]. Until 1973 people had a card for each year with stamps to show they had paid. After that it was joined to the system for collecting income tax.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ogus |first1=A |last2=Barendt |first2=E M |title=The Law of Social Security |date=1988 |publisher=Butterworths |location=London |isbn=0406063370 |page=34 |edition=3}}</ref> They can then get benefits when they cannot work. ==Contributions== People over retirement age do not pay. There are four sort of contributions (payments). Class 1 contributions are paid by employers and their workers. Nothing is paid by people who earn less than £123 a week. Between £123 and £242 a week workers get a credit but dont pay. Between £242 and