Hmm, increasing SOC to unreasonably high might be bad news for people like me who work as software engineer earning just over 33k. I will keep watching the news and update this thread.

Hi there, I am in the same boat as you. I am currently earning just over 33k and my tier 2 expires next year August. But I am eligible to apply for ilr in may. But according to the assumption that I need to earn 35 for past 12 months, I am not eligible to apply and will need to wait until August. Ho...

@Ecotrot well answered mate thanks for input Hi there, I am in the same boat as you. I will complete five years on tier 2 in May 2016. But at the moment I am earning just £33600. I can convince my company to increase it to 35k. But, since it is a big organisation, it will take some time. So hopeful...