
1 

(1) These regulations may be cited as the
Social Security (Earnings Factor) Regulations 1979 and shall come into operation
on 16th July 1979.
(2) In these regulations—
 “the Act”
means the Social Security
Act 1975;
 “contributions”
means contributions from which, under the Act or by
virtue of regulations, an earnings factor is to be derived, and references
to contributions of any class are to contributions actually of that class
notwithstanding that for the purposes of any benefit they may be treated as
or be deemed to be contributions of another class;
 “the Contributions Regulations”
 means the 
Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1979;

 “year”
means tax year;and other expressions have the same meanings as in the Act.
2 
The earnings factors derived from a person's contributions in respect
of any year shall be ascertained in accordance with the rules contained in 
Schedule 1 to these regulations.
3 
For the purposes of Part III
of the Act (determination of claims and questions) a certificate signed by
a duly authorised officer of the Department of Health and Social Security,
as to the manner in which any contributions paid or treated as having been
paid or as not repaid have been or are to be recorded in the records of that
Department, shall be sufficient evidence of the facts so certified; and any
document purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed unless
the contrary is proved.
4 
For the purposes of paragraph 7 of
Schedule 1 to these regulations—
(a) any contributions which would have been
payable by the person in question but for the fact that they are not payable
by virtue of regulation 49
of the Contributions Regulations, or
(b) any contributions repayable or repaid
to him under regulation 32
of those regulations as having been paid in excess of the amount prescribed
in regulation 17
of those regulations (annual maximum)
shall be treated as having been paid and in the case of
repaid contributions as not repaid.
5 
The regulations specified in Schedule
2 to these regulations are hereby revoked.

Patrick Jenkin
Secretary of State for Social Services
18th June 1979
SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 2
PART I
1 

(1) In this Part of this Schedule—

(a) “Class
1 contributions” means primary
Class 1 contributions;
(b) “contracted-out
contributions” means contributions
paid on earnings in respect of a person's contracted-out employment being
earnings in excess of the current lower earnings limit or the prescribed equivalent
if he is paid otherwise than weekly;
(c) “the
Pensions Act” means the 
Social Security Pensions Act 1975;
(d) “the
standard level” in relation to
any year means that year's lower earnings limit for Class 1 contributions
multiplied by 50;
(e) any reference to a rate of contributions
which is expressed as a percentage is to the figure or figures appropriate
for specifying the percentage and not to the percentage itself;
(f) where a sum is to be rounded to the nearest
whole penny or the nearest whole pound ½p shall be taken as nearest
to the next whole penny above and 50p as nearest to the next whole pound above
respectively; and
(g) each paragraph has effect subject to
the provisions of all later paragraphs.
(2) 
Paragraphs 2 to 6 below shall apply for the
purposes specified in section 13(2)
of the Act as amended by paragraph 38 of Schedule
4 to the Pensions Act, and 
paragraph 7 for the purposes of 
section 35 of the Pensions Act (earner's guaranteed
minimum).
2 
The earnings factor derived from a person's
Class 1 contributions actually paid in respect of any year shall be 100⁢[((P − Q) + SR) + (Q + S1R1)] where 
(a) P is the amount of his Class 1 contributions
actually paid in respect of that year;
(b) S or S1 is the smallest sum required
to make the factor ((P − Q) + S) or (Q + S1) respectively a multiple
of 10 pence treating 0 pence for this purpose as being a sum;
(c) Q is the amount of his contracted-out
contributions paid in respect of that year;
(d) R is—
(i) in relation to any Class 1 contributions
paid at the rate specified in section 4(6)(a)
 of the Act, the rate in question in force
for that year; and
(ii) in relation to any Class 1 contributions
paid at the rate so specified as modified by regulations under sections 128 to 132 of the Act,
the rate in question as so modified in force for that year; and
(e) R1 is the rate of contracted-out contributions
in force for that year ascertained by reference to 
section 27(2)(a) of the Pensions Act;
and the amount resulting shall be rounded to the nearest whole
penny.
3 
Where in respect of any year a person's Class
1 contributions actually paid have been or are to be recorded as separate
sums in the records of the Department of Health and Social Security, the earnings
factor derived from those contributions shall be the aggregate of the amounts
ascertained by applying the provisions of paragraph
2 above separately to each sum.
4 
The earnings factor derived from a person's
Class 1 contributions paid or credited in respect of any year shall be ascertained
by aggregating—
(a) the earnings factor derived from his
Class 1 contributions actually paid in respect of that year (ascertained by
applying the provisions of paragraph 2
or 3 above); and
(b) 100⁢CR, where 
(i) C is the amount of his Class 1 contributions
credited in respect of that year; and
(ii) R is the rate of contributions specified
in section 4(6)(a)
of the Act in force for that year.
5 
Any earnings factor ascertained under paragraphs 2 to 4 above shall
be rounded to the nearest whole pound.
6 
Where a person has actually paid any Class 1
contributions in respect of a year and, but for this paragraph, the ascertainment
of any earnings factor of his in respect of that year by the application of
the provisions of paragraphs 2 to
5 above would have the effect that—
(a) that earnings factor; or
(b) any aggregate of his earnings factors,
either all derived from contributions actually paid or all derived from contributions
paid or credited, for the same year,
would fall short of—
(i) the qualifying earnings factor, by an
amount not exceeding £14, or
(ii) the standard level, by an amount not
exceeding £14, or
(iii) three-quarters of the standard level,
by an amount not exceeding £11, or
(iv) one-half of the standard level, by an
amount not exceeding £7,
the amount of that earnings factor as so ascertained shall,
for the purposes of section 13(2)(a)
of the Act, be increased by the amount of the shortfall, and the amount resulting
shall be rounded up to the next whole pound.
7 

(1) The earnings factor derived from a person's
contracted-out contributions for any year in respect of any contracted-out
employment shall be100⁢ (Q + S1)R1,
(a) Q is the amount of his contracted-out
contributions paid, or treated for the purposes of this paragraph as having
been paid or as not repaid, in respect of that year and in respect of that
employment; and
(b) S1 and R1 have the same meanings as in 
paragraph 2 above;and the amount resulting shall be rounded to the nearest whole
penny.
(2) Where in respect of any year a person's
Class 1 contributions paid or treated for the purposes of this paragraph as
having been paid or as not repaid have been or are to be recorded as separate
sums in the records of the Department of Health and Social Security, the earnings
factor derived from those contributions shall be the aggregative of the amounts
ascertained by applying the provisions of sub-paragraph
(1) above separately to each sum.
(3) Any earnings factor ascertained by applying
the provisions of sub-paragraphs
(1) and (2) above shall be rounded
to the nearest whole pound.
PART II
8 
Subject to the provisions of 
paragraph 9, the earnings factor derived from
a person's Class 2 or Class 3 contributions, being in each case contributions
actually paid or contributions paid or credited, in respect of any year shall
be that year's lower earnings limit for Class 1 contributions multiplied by
the number of the contributions from which the earnings factor is to be derived.

9 
Where any earnings factor ascertained by applying
the rule contained in paragraph 8
above would not, but for this paragraph, be expressed as a whole number of
pounds, it shall be so expressed by the rounding down of any fraction of a
pound less than one-half and the rounding up of any other fraction of a pound.

SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 5


Regulations
revoked 
References
The Social Security (Earnings
Factor) Regulations 1975 S.I. 1975/468
The 
Social Security (Earnings Factor) Amendment Regulations 1977 S.I. 1977/1706

The Social Security (Earnings Factor)
Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1977 S.I. 1977/1707