Does the 13th month count for EP qualifying salary?

[Hadoren]

Does the 13th month count for the qualifying salary to receive an EP pass?

Let us say I am 31 years old. The qualifying salary is $7,000.

Case 1
I make ~$88,000 per year. According to my employment contract, my salary is $6,770 per month for 13 months. Does this pass the qualifying salary?

Case 2
I make ~$88,000 per year. According to my employment contract, my salary is $7,333 per month for 12 months. Does this pass the qualifying salary?



Note:
The MOM states, "Fixed monthly salary does not include...annual wage supplements."

The MOM also states, "The AWS is also called the '13th month payment.' "

Does this mean Case 1 does not qualify for EP?

[gold.spot]

Yes, it doesn't.

[Strong Eagle]

The annual wage supplement is so much bullshit. It's a cheating way of keeping employees from resigning at the end of the year. Consider this:

a) You go to work for company A which offers you $72,000 a year. They don't have AWS so you get your salary in 12 chunks, each month being paid $6,000.

b) You go to work for company B which also offers you $72,000 per year but they call it an "annual wage supplement". What it really turns out to be is $72,000 divided by 13 or $5,538 per month, and then they give you the rest of the money they owe you, $5,538, as a "supplement".

It's really a rip-off. Consider: If you were paid semi-monthly, you'd get 24 paychecks in a year. If you were paid bi-weekly, you'd get 26 checks in a year. See, two extra pay periods paid in the same year.

So people who get AWS are getting screwed because the company thinks that they are retaining employees because of this joke.

[malcontent]

I only know how my employer does it — if you leave part way through the year, you get a partial AWS up to that point in the year.

The one that sucks is our variable bonus, even of you worked the entire year but not the last day of the year, you get no bonus.

[Strong Eagle]

Does the 13th month count for the qualifying salary to receive an EP pass?

Let us say I am 31 years old. The qualifying salary is $7,000.

Case 1
I make ~$88,000 per year. According to my employment contract, my salary is $6,770 per month for 13 months. Does this pass the qualifying salary?

Case 2
I make ~$88,000 per year. According to my employment contract, my salary is $7,333 per month for 12 months. Does this pass the qualifying salary?



Note:
The MOM states, "Fixed monthly salary does not include...annual wage supplements."

The MOM also states, "The AWS is also called the '13th month payment.' "

Does this mean Case 1 does not qualify for EP?

You should contact MoM. I am of the opinion that if your contract is guaranteeing you a 13th month, then it is not a bonus nor a variable award and therefore should count in determining the qualifying salary. Only if your additional compensation is variable and/or not guaranteed would it not be counted, for example, a profit sharing distribution paid at year end. But as I noted in another post, the 13th month is a chickenshit way to pay your annual salary in 13 tranches instead of 12.

[Wd40]

I only know how my employer does it — if you leave part way through the year, you get a partial AWS up to that point in the year.

The one that sucks is our variable bonus, even of you worked the entire year but not the last day of the year, you get no bonus.

I am currently in the 9th year with my employer and I know you have been with your employer for like ages. So considering the entire tenure, losing out on annual bonus for 1 year over a 10 year period isn't a big deal, for me.

I think the problem is for people who switch employers like every year or 2. But I think it is not very sustainable here in Asia.

It is similar to losing rental deposit. I am staying in my current house for 7th year already. If I amortize the deposit of 2 months over this 7 year period, it is not a big deal. The problem is for people who switch houses every couple of years, the risk of losing deposit is higher and the impact is higher as well.

In my accounting books, I have already written off my deposit. If I get it then I consider it as a gain.