Basic salaries and allowances/supplements are not subject to income tax, by virtue of the Ottawa Agreement.
Staff members are recruited at pay step one of their category and grade. Subject to satisfactory performance, higher steps are awarded in subsequent years. Annual adjustments are normally applied to all scales to compensate for the changes in salary purchasing power and the cost of living.
Basic Salary
Basic Salary is the salary for the category and grade. The entry level (Step 1) of the salary scales applicable to the duty countries of where NCI Agency is situated can be found here.
Allowances
In accordance with NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPRs), various allowances may be payable such as for example:
The payment of NATO allowances is subject to the deduction of allowances/supplements of the same nature to which the household/family unit or the unmarried staff member may be entitled.
When two staff members are married to each other, work for the same or different Coordinated Organization, special provisions are in place with regards to the payment of allowances.
Expatriation allowance - It is paid to staff members of NATO grades G2, G5, G8, and G10 to G24 who, at the time of their appointment, are not nationals of the host country and who have not been continuously resident in the host country for at least one year.
When determining the continuous nature of the residence, the Agency mainly considers the physical place of work of the person concerned at the time of appointment.
Interruptions in residing in a given country for personal or professional reasons (e.g. vacations, official travel or returning to the home country pending finalization of the recruitment process) do not automatically result in a discontinuity of the residence in that country.
The Agency's decision will be taken in line with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations and is independent of any formal qualification made by national authorities. Registration in a population, social security or fiscal register is therefore not decisive as far as the qualification made by the Agency is concerned.
Below is an example of how the criteria given above is applied.
Example: A new staff member was appointed at NCI Agency Mons, Belgium, in September 2017. She is of Romanian nationality and worked as a contractor at NCI Agency for one year prior to appointment. This staff member will not be entitled to an expatriation allowance because her physical place of work, prior to being appointed, was at NCI Agency. |
Under the single salary spine, the rate of the expatriation allowance is 10% of the first increment of the grade. In years six through ten, the allowance is reduced by two percentage points per year to reach zero in year ten.
Basic Family allowance (BFA) - Paid monthly to eligible staff members who are married and his/her spouse have established a family unit at the duty station and if the spouse's overall income is below a certain threshold. Spouse's income above the threshold results in full deduction of BFA + Supplement for Expatriation.
Supplement for Expatriation
Payable when the married staff member is entitled to the Basic Family Allowance and expatriation allowance.
Period of payment for the BFA (and supplement for Expatriation)
Paid up to five consecutive years for staff not entitled to Expatriation Allowance.
Reduced over time for expatriates from the same geographical zone* (paid in full for five years then gradually reduced to zero over five years)
Not reduced for expatriates from another geographical zone.
*The geographical zones shall be defined as follows: EME (Europe and Middle East), Africa, Americas (North, Central and South America), Asia and Pacific (Far East and Pacific countries).
Dependent Child Supplement – Payable for each child under the age of 18 (22 years if in full-time education) and recognized as a dependent child within the meaning of the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations.
Child expatriation allowance - Recognized expatriated staff members who have dependent children are eligible for a child expatriation allowance.
Education Allowance - Staff entitled to Expatriation Allowance whose children are in compulsory education may be entitled to an education allowance.
Installation Allowance – Staff members whose actual and habitual residence at the time of taking up duty is more than 100km and are moving to take up their appointment are entitled to an Installation Allowance. The physical place of work concerned is mainly considered for determining eligibility for this benefit.
The basic amount of Installation allowance depends on the duty country and if there is an entitlement to expatriation allowance. Supplements may be payable for dependents recognized at the time of taking up duty and who have settled their actual and habitual residence with the staff member at the duty station. A further supplement may be payable for staff members entitled to the expatriation allowance who change geographical zone* in order to settle their actual and habitual residence in the vicinity of the assigned duty station.
*The geographical zones are as follows: EME (Europe and Middle East), Africa, Americas (North, Central and South America), Asia and Pacific (Far East and Pacific countries).
Travel and Removal Expenses
Staff members entitled to Installation Allowance are reimbursed their travel and removal expenses on joining and leaving the Organization within certain limits.
Pension Scheme
NATO has an investment based pension scheme and all members are mandatorily affiliated to the scheme.
NATO's contribution to the scheme amounts to 12% of the basic salary. The employee's contribution amounts to 8% of basic salary. More information is available in the brochure.
Medical and Life Insurance
Staff members pay a premium for combined medical, invalidity and life insurance.
This covers:
Partial reimbursement of medical costs for staff members, their spouses and recognized dependent children;
Full reimbursement of medical costs for staff members in case of an accident on duty or occupational illness
An invalidity pension if the staff member is declared an invalid
A lump sum in the case of death of the staff member.