what do national insurance contributions fund 
national insurance contributions made by employees in the united kingdom are used to fund various social benefit programs these include the country s pension system unemployment benefits and sickness benefits among others the bottom linemany countries have systems in place to fund social benefit programs the national insurance system in the united kingdom relies on contributions from employees over the age of 16 to pay for retiree pensions unemployment benefits and other related social programs individuals must have a valid national insurance number before contributions can be made national insurance contributions are similar to the fica system in the united states which funds social security and medicare 