Commentary on Sections PART 1 – Pension Scheme Membership for Jobholders CHAPTER 1 – Employers’ Duties Section 13: Qualifying earnings
This section defines qualifying earnings, by reference to an earnings band, with lower and upper limits of £5,035 and £33,540 per annum (in 2006/07 earnings terms), on which pensions contributions will be calculated for money purchase schemes. Having qualifying earnings (i.e. above £5,035) is a criterion of being a “jobholder” and so is a factor in determining whether a worker is to be automatically enrolled.
The section defines “earnings” as monetary sums comprising: wages/salary, commissions, bonuses, overtime and certain statutory benefits. It also enables the Department to set out in regulations other sums that can be considered as part of “earnings”.