What does the last letter mean on the British National Insurance number card?

British National Insurance Number Cards

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• I think it has something to do with when you will be called up to the army or something.

• The last letter is always A, B, C or D. Nowadays, it doesn't mean anything. But when the national Insurance scheme started in 1948 everything was done clerically - no computers. All employed workers had a National Insurance card which was stamped every week with a stamp to prove they had paid an insurance contribution. You got benefits (unemployment, retirement, pension, etc.) depending on how many stamps you had paid. Once a year, all the cards were posted to the Ministry of Pensions in Longbenton Newcastle on Tyne where thousands of clerks recorded the contributions on paper ledgers. This was too big of a job to be done at once and so they were split into four quarters depending on the letter at the end. So cards ending in A were sent in January and so on. It's rather redundant, but the letters still remain because it is much too complicated to change things now.

• The last letter on the card has to do with whether or not you have any brothers or sisters. For example my eldest sister is ** ** ** ** A, my brother is ** ** ** ** B and I am ** ** ** ** C. If you look at the card that your brothers and sisters have, then the numbers should be exactly the same. The only difference being the letter.

• The correct answer is the first one. From the IMRC website:(http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nimmanual/nim39110.htm ) NIM39110 - National Insurance Numbers (NINOs): Format and Security: What a NINO looks like: A NINO is made up of two letters, six numbers and a final letter, which is always A, B, C or D. It looks something like this: AB 12 34 56 C. This is an example only and should not be used as an actual number. The suffix letters A, B, C and D were important until 1975 when people paid their NICs by affixing a stamp to a card. The contribution cards lasted for one year and were to be returned to the DSS (now Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)) in exchange for a new card in March, June, September or December. The suffix determined when the card was to be returned. �A� meant the card was to be returned in March; �B� in June; �C� in September and �D� in December. Although contribution cards are no longer used, the suffix is still an integral part of the NINO. You may also see numbers commencing 00. These are not NINOs. They should be used purely for administering tax credits where no NINO is held at the start of a tax credit claim. The customer should have already applied for a full UK NINO. You may also see numbers commencing TN. These are Temporary Numbers which were used by employers where the NINO was not known. Employers who do not know the NINO should follow the guidance in Employers Guides, or on the IR internet site. See NIM39210. For Stakeholder Pension purposes, a scheme administrator may need to allocate a dummy identifier beginning �NC� followed by six numbers based on the date of birth and ending with �m� or �f� for the gender. This dummy identifier should only be used for personal pension end of year reporting, and the member must not be given the dummy identifier which is used by the Revenue for personal pension compliance data matching only. The PP prefix is due to become a verified NINO prefix. PP will continue to be accepted by the Quality Standard. As the p suffix is not part of a verified NINO and is not held on our systems, it will not be accepted by the Quality Standard for end of year filing from 2005/2006. See the following Web site for further information: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nimmanual/nim39110.htm

• The letter b on a card means that you have to be in the army in the event of a huge war, such as World War III and that you have no choice in the matter.

First answer by o c. Last edit by Crystal. Contributor trust: 1261 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 239 [recommend question]

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