National Insurance Contributions Act 2008
Act of ParliamentThis bill passed all stages in both Houses and received Royal Assent.
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Long title
A Bill to make provision in connection with the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions (including in particular provision about the upper accrual point)
Summary
<p>In his Budget speech on 21 March 2007 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced a series of changes to the personal tax system. </p><p>One of these measures was to ‘align the income tax system with the national insurance system’ from April 2009, ‘thereby creating a tax system for income that has just two rates and two thresholds.’</p><p><strong>Key areas</strong></p><ul><li>The Bill proposes to align the upper earnings limit (UEL) for National Insurance contributions (NICs) with the higher rate threshold – the point at which taxpayers start to pay the higher rate of income tax – from 6 April 2009. At present the upper earnings limit is subject to a statutory limit, so that it must be set at between six and a half and seven and a half times the primary threshold for National Insurance contributions. The Bill removes this restriction, and allows the limit to be set by secondary legislation for 2009-10 and beyond. </li><li>It introduces an upper accrual point (UAP) for the state second pension (S2P), also from 6 April 2009. The Pensions Act 2007 contains a number of provisions to gradually amend the S2P into a flat-rate top-up to the basic state pension, including the introduction of the upper accrual point. It had been intended that this would be introduced in 2012. The Bill brings this forward to April 2009, so that increases in the upper earnings limit from this date do not boost the S2P that higher earners would accrue. </li></ul>
Progress through Parliament
- 1st reading· Commons
12 November 2007 – 12 November 2007
- 2nd reading· Commons
17 December 2007 – 17 December 2007
- Programme motion· Commons
17 December 2007 – 17 December 2007
- Committee stage· Commons
15 January 2008 – 15 January 2008
- Report stage· Commons
31 January 2008 – 31 January 2008
- 3rd reading· Commons
31 January 2008 – 31 January 2008
- 1st reading· Lords
4 February 2008 – 4 February 2008
- 2nd reading· Lords
30 April 2008 – 30 April 2008
- Committee stage· Lords
9 June 2008 – 9 June 2008
- Report stage· Lords
2 July 2008 – 2 July 2008
- 3rd reading· Lords
9 July 2008 – 9 July 2008
- Consideration of Lords amendments· Commons
15 July 2008 – 15 July 2008
- Consideration of Commons amendments and / or reasons· Lords
21 July 2008 – 21 July 2008
- Royal Assent· Unassigned
21 July 2008 – 21 July 2008
Source: UK Parliament Bills API. Bill ID: 193.