Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (EarningsFactor) Amendment Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 6th June1991.

Amendment of Regulation 4

2. In regulation 4 of the Social Security (Earnings Factor) Regulations1979(6) for the reference"paragraph 7" there shall be substituted the reference"paragraph 5".

Amendment of Schedule

3. For Part I of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Earnings Factor)Regulations 1979 there is hereby substituted the Part I contained in theSchedule to these Regulations.

Revocation

4. Regulation 2(3) of the Social Security (Earnings Factor) AmendmentRegulations 1988(7) is hereby revoked.

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE PART I OF SCHEDULE 1 (RULES FOR THE ASCERTAINMENT OF EARNINGSFACTORS) TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY (EARNINGS FACTOR) REGULATIONS 1979 ASSUBSTITUTED BY THESE REGULATIONS

PART ICLASS 1 CONTRIBUTIONS

1.-(1) In this Part of this Schedule-

"Class 1 contributions" means primary Class 1 contributions;

"contracted-out contributions" means primary Class 1 contributions paid on earnings in respect ofa person's contracted-out employment being earnings in excess of thecurrent lower earnings limit or the prescribed equivalent if he is paidotherwise than weekly;

"the standard level" in relation to any year means that year's lower earnings limit forClass 1 contributions multiplied by 50; and

each paragraph has effect subject to the provisions of all laterparagraphs.

(2) Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 below shall apply for the purposes specifiedin section 13(2) of the Act(8), and paragraph 5 below for the purposes of section 35 ofthe Social Security Pensions Act1975(9) (earner's guaranteed minimum).

2.-(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, a person's earnings factorderived in respect of the year commencing on 6th April 1987, or anysubsequent year, from-

(a)those of his earnings paid in that year upon which Class 1contributions have been paid or treated as paid in respect of that year,and

(b)earnings with which he has been credited in respect of that year,

• shall be equal to the amount of those actual and credited earnings.

(2) Any earnings factor ascertained under sub-paragraph (1) above shallbe rounded down to the nearest whole pound.

3. Where a person's earnings paid in the year commencing on 6th April1987, or in any subsequent year, are earnings upon which Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid in respect of that year and are, or are tobe, recorded as separate sums in the records of the Department of SocialSecurity, the earnings factor derived from those earnings shall be equalto the aggregate of the amounts ascertained by rounding down each sumseparately to the nearest whole pound.

4. Where Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid inrespect of the year commencing on 6th April 1987, or any subsequentyear, upon a person's earnings paid in that year and, but for thisparagraph, the ascertainment of any earnings factor of his in respect ofsuch year by the application of paragraphs 2 or 3 above would have theeffect that-

(a)his earnings factor derived from those earnings, or

(b)the aggregate of his earnings factors derived from those earnings,and any earnings credited in respect of the same year, together with anyderived from Class 2 or Class 3 contributions paid or credited in thatyear

• would fall short of-

  (i)

  the qualifying earnings factor, by an amount not exceeding £50, or

  (ii)

  the standard level, by an amount not exceeding £50, or

  (iii)

  one-half of the standard level, by an amount not exceeding £25,

• the amount of that earnings factor as so ascertained shall, for thepurpose of section 13(2)(a) of the Act, be increased by the amount ofthe shortfall, and the amount resulting shall be rounded up to thenearest whole pound.

5.-(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) below, a person's earningsfactor derived in respect of the year commencing on 6th April 1987, orany subsequent year, from those of his earnings in contracted-outemployment upon which contracted-out contributions have been paid, ortreated as paid, in respect of such year, shall be equal to the amountof those earnings.

(2) Any earnings factor ascertained under sub-paragraph (1) above shallbe rounded down to the nearest whole pound.

(3) Where a person's earnings paid in the year commencing on 6th April1987, or in any subsequent year, are earnings upon which contracted-outcontributions have been paid or treated as paid in respect of that yearand are, or are to be, recorded as separate sums in the records of theDepartment of Social Security, the earnings factor derived from thoseearnings shall be equal to the aggregate of the amounts ascertained byrounding down each sum separately to the nearest whole pound.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations replace in consolidated form the provisions ofPart I of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Earnings Factor)Regulations 1979 as amended by S.I. 1985/1417, 1987/316 and 411 and byregulation 2(3) of S.I. 1988/429. They also make a consequentialamendment to regulation 4 of those Regulations.

S.I. 1985/1417 and 1987/316 and 411 were revoked by regulation 3 ofS.I. 1988/429. These Regulations revoke regulation 2(3) of thatinstrument.

The provisions in the Schedule are the rules for ascertainingearnings factors derived, in respect of tax years beginning on or after6th April 1987, from earnings on which primary Class 1 contributionshave been paid or treated as paid. They do not apply to earnings factorsfor earlier years.

The report of the Occupational Pensions Board on the draft of theseRegulations which was referred to them, together with a statement by theSecretary of State on that Report, is contained in Command Paper No.1537, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.