Coverage of Self- Employed Persons (SEP) National Insurance - PDF document

Coverage of Self- Employed Persons (SEP) National Insurance Corporation (NIC) St Lucia Coverage of Self-employed Persons Coverage is provided to any person who carries on trade, business enterprise/professional services or any other lawful activity which: � Generates income through sales/payment services rendered or other income � Generates monetary remuneration in form of: 1. Salary 2. Return on investment 3. Profits 4. Other forms of monetary remuneration � Persons between the ages 16 – 65 years � Residing in St Lucia

Administrative Procedure for Affiliation Registration process: � If self-employed has registered business name, registration is done immediately without further investigation. � If there is no business registration document and no identification indicating affiliation to any group, investigation is undertaken by investigating officer to verify self-employment. Wage Bands for Self-Employed Contributors Category Income Band ($EC) Contribution Payable ($EC) Special 0 - 500 50 A 501 – 1,000 75 B 1,001 - 1,500 125 C 1,501 – 2,000 175 D 2,001 – 2,500 225 E 2,501 – 3,000 275 F 3,001 – 3,500 325 G 3,501 – 4,000 375 H 4,001 – 4,500 425 I 4,501 - 5,000 475 Persons earning a minimum of EC$5,000 per month will be required to pay the maximum of $500.0 No arrangement for certain group as coverage is voluntary

Specific Characteristics of SEP � Voluntary Coverage. � Contribution rate is very close to 10% of mid-point of earnings class. � No contribution subsidy. � No incentive for affiliation to social security. � No administrative procedure for affiliation, contribution collection and payment of benefits. � Entitled to all benefits except employment injury, at same rate as other insured persons. Challenges of Current SEP and Proposed Solution Challenges Proposed Solution � Voluntary coverage. � NIC engaged the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to � Low coverage- (6% of Self- undertake a comprehensive study employed population). self employed persons in 2015. � Lack of incentive. � Objective: significantly increase � Contribution affordability. the level of coverage of this � Registration and compliance category of workers within the monitoring. employed population. � Benefit relevance. � Equitability in coverage level of the informal sector � Benefit Accessibility. � Aging population

Current Status of Self-Employed Project � Completion of the national survey of self-employed persons in December, 2016. � Await draft report from the ILO. Composition of Self-Employed Population Based on Survey Result Category Female Male Agriculture and Forestry, fishers 27.14% 34.64% Construction 0.12% 17.26% Manufacturing 5.89% 5.15% Other service activities 13.39% 12.75% Restaurants/Catering/Food Service Activities 6.93% 1.61% Transportation and storage 0.46% 15.84% Wholesale and retail trade 46.07% 12.75% Total 100.00% 100.00%

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