What are Social Security Categories?
Social Security Contributions are payments made towards the national insurance scheme which aims to assist payees with a number of benefits including pensions, allowances, and social and medical assistance. For more details about social security contributions, please refer to the Social Security Act.
Creating social security contributions is a 2-part process. First, create the social security category and associated rates in accordance to IRD directives, then link the associated Rate with the correct social security category.
What are Social Security Categories used for?
Social Security Categories together with the respective rates are used to deduct the appropriate Social Security Contributions (SSC) from the relevant payrolls.
Adding a new Social Security Category
To create a new social security category:
Go to Payroll and Leave > Payroll Setup > Social Security Categories.
Click the Insert icon.
Fill in the following details for the new social security category:
Code: A unique code for the category
Description: This should match the SSC Class category given by IRD, e.g. Category A.
Age group: Select the age group for whom this SSC Class is available.
Student: If the SSC class is available to students*, check this box. (*IRD defines students as those who are following a full-time course of studies or instruction under the Student-Worker Scheme, or other similar schemes (including the Extended Skills Training Schemes, but excluding the Worker-Student Schemes) involving distinct work and study periods for which they are receiving remuneration.)
Can choose Contribution type: Individual employees can choose whether they pay their SSC as a capped percentage or a fixed rate.
Once ready, click on the Save icon to commit changes.
Adding new Rates
Rates detail how social security contributions are worked out, as detailed by the Inland Revenue Department. Indigo updates SSC profiles whenever they are updated by the authorities, so SSC profiles should only be created in exceptional circumstances.
Social Security Categories have rates assigned to them, making them into payable contributions which are worked out in accordance with directives from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
To add or amend rates:
Select the Rates tab.
Click the Insert or Edit icon as necessary and enter or update the fields.
Click Save.
List of fields in Social Security Category Rates:
Date from: the date from which the rate applies.
Date to: the date until which the rate applies.
Born Before: the employee’s date of birth must be less or equal to this date for rate eligibility.
Weekly minimum wage: the minimum pay an employee must earn for rate eligibility.
Weekly maximum wage: the maximum pay an employee can earn for rate eligibility.
Company % rate: the percentage rate paid by the employer.
Company min. weekly contribution: the minimum contribution payable by the employer for this rate.
Company max. weekly contribution: the maximum contribution payable by the employer for this rate.
Employee % rate: the percentage rate paid by the employee.
Employee min. weekly contribution: the minimum contribution payable by the employee for this rate.
Employee max. weekly contribution: the maximum contribution payable by the employee for this rate.
Mat. leave fund % : percentage rate paid by the employer that is put towards the maternity leave fund.
Mat. leave fund min. weekly contribution: the minimum maternity leave fund contribution payable by the employer for this rate.
Mat. leave fund max. weekly contribution: the maximum maternity leave fund contribution payable by the employer for this rate.
Once ready, click on the Save icon to commit changes.
Editing an existing Social Security Category
To edit an existing Social Security Category, highlight the category by clicking once on the respective row, then click the Edit button.
Deleting an existing Social Security Category
To delete an existing payment, highlight the category and click on Delete.
Why isn't SSC being Deducted for a Particular Employee?
There can be several reasons why SSC is not being deducted for a particular employee:
A. Not enough income: the employee does not earn enough income to be liable to pay SSC.
B. Employment Type set to No NI: The employee's employment type has the SS Cat Type set to No NI.
C. No Monday in payroll period: As SSC is payable every Monday, payrolls with no Mondays are not susceptible to SSC contributions.