Towards the end of January 2023 Rob Cooper contacted the Compensation Fund authorities to inform them that the earnings threshold for the 2023/2024 year of assessment that payrolls must implement in their systems from 1 March 2023 had
not yet been published and to request that it be published urgently.

Gazette No. 48065 was then published on 17 February 2023 (signed on 13 Feb 2023 by the Director-General of the Department of Employment and Labour). This Gazette specified the threshold for the 2022/23 year of assessment as
well as the threshold for the coming 2023/24 year of assessment, as follows:

a) A Maximum Earnings on Actual Earnings is R529 264 (1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023)
b) A Maximum Earnings on Provisional Assessment is R563 520 (1 March 2023 to 28 February 2024)
c) A Minimum Assessment for employers is R1443
d) A Minimum Assessment for private domestic employers is R498

The two earnings thresholds specified in this Gazette were published in PAGSA Newsflash 2023-05 on 17 February 2023 as follows:
1. R 529 264 for 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023
2. R 563 520 for 1 March 2023 to 28 February 2024.

On 10 March 2023, Gazette No. 48187 was published (signed on 13 Feb 2023 by the Minister of Employment and Labour) containing a notice that listed the “Increase in Monthly Pensions” over several pages.

These are benefit payouts and are not of importance for payroll systems.

Sometime later, to everyone’s surprise, one of our PAGSA members pointed out that new earnings thresholds were specified after the listing on the Monthly Pension Increases at the end of the Gazette.

The earnings threshold for 2023/24 specified in this Gazette is R568 959 (specified in the previous Gazette as R563 520).

This resulted in an exchange of emails between the PAGSA, the Fund, and the Department of Employment and Labour to determine:
1. Why two Gazettes were published with different earnings thresholds
2. Which of the two earnings threshold is the correct one for 2023/24.

The first question won’t be answered, but it has now been confirmed that the earnings threshold specified in the second Gazette No. 48187 is the correct one and must be used for 2023/24.

To confirm, the two earnings thresholds that must be applied in payroll systems are:
1. R 529 264 for 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023
2. R 568 959 for 1 March 2023 to 28 February 2024