Tier 1 General - Pension Benefit Fund and previous taxes

Hi

I am appllying for my ILR in the month of February and am just wondering if someone could help me.

I have opted for company pension scheme in which £280 is deducted every month and the company adds the same amount. When I checked my payslip to my surprise they have done deduction of £280 in the salary section not in deduction section and when it shows my gross salary it is £280 - £300 less every month and which leads to £2800 for the last 9 months and this is impacting my salary to reach to £35000. I realised in Sepetmber and opted out from Pension Scheme. For better understanding below is the example:

Basic Salary ---2458.00
Pension Ben Fund - 335.25
Pension Conts - -279.38

Total Gross payments = 2502.65

Tax ---- 459.80
National Insurance --- 220.76

If i only show gross payments, then i will not be able to show my Pensions conributions which will impact my income impact to be 35000.

Hoping to hear from you.

Kind Regards

Venu

Pension contribution is taken off your gross so it is non-taxable and is a benefit. You cannot claim any points for pension - See pg 22 in the policy guidance here

Have you checked the points table in pages 10,11 if you absolutely need 35k to qualify. For eg., earnings of between £32,000 - £34,999.99 would still fetch you 35 points, if your fall under rules in place prior to 6th April 2010.

What was the date of your 1st Tier 1 General application ?

The other option would be to post-pone your ILR application. How much more time do you have on your current Visa ?

Hi

I have checked the page 22 and it says Employer pension, but the amount which got deducted is employee pension and its my contribution towards pension benefit Scheme.

Yes, absolutely i need 35K as i previously paid 35 K to my Extension.

My visa expires on March 2nd 2016.

Kind Regards

Venu

However you can only claim points on gross earnings before tax. See point 91 in page 20.

91. We will assess your earnings. If you are in salaried employment, (including a Director of a
company for example) we will assess your gross salary before tax. This also includes
self-employed applicants who draw a salary from their businesses. If you earned the
money in a country with no tax system, we will consider your total earnings for the period.

Yes, absolutely i need 35K as i previously paid 35 K to my Extension.

Just re-reading this post, you don't absolutely need 35k just because you showed 35k in your earlier extension. It is OK to show a lower salary this time or for your ILR as long as you qualify and earn the required points, be it 75 or 80 depending on the rules on the basis of the date of your first Entry Clearance application.