National insurance is a state program in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that provides financial support for families whose earnings are interrupted through unemployment, sickness, widowhood, or retirement. The money to pay for the benefits comes from regular contributions paid by all wage earners and employers. Since the 1960's, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have paid pensions to people of either country who have worked in the other. The national insurance program was introduced in 1911.