Now is the time to think about doing your annual Type 2 superannuation form for 2021/22 if you haven’t done so already.

21.02.2023
Sophie Palmer
Healthcare
Medical professional

Who needs to complete a Type 2 certificate?

Medical professional

Just to recap, per NHS Pensions, a Type 2 medical Practitioner is:-

  • A salaried GP employed by a GP practice, alternative provider of medical services (APMS) contractor or by a LHB.
  • A long-term fee based/self-employed GP who works for a GP practice, APMS contractor, or LHB.
  • A GP who works solely on a self-employed basis for an Out of Hours Provider that is an Employing Authority or on a self-employed basis for a NHS Trust/Foundation Trust that provides Out of Hours (OOHs) services.

The Type 2 pension form for 2021/22 (which can be found at the bottom of this article) is available to download from the NHSBSA website along with some guidance notes to assist you. The deadline for filing the form was 28 February 2023.

Key points to consider

When completing the form, you should be asking yourself:-

  • Which NHS Pension Scheme am I a member of, 1995/2008 or 2015?

There is a tab in the form for each Scheme. You will need to complete the relevant tab for you.

  • Have I held continuous pensionable service during the year?

If the answer is no, and you are a member 2015 NHS Pension Scheme, then you must annualise your pensionable income to determine the correct employee tiered rate to apply. Annualisation was brought in from 1 April 2015 and applies only to members of the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme. From 1 April 2019 all breaks in membership, irrespective of their length, must be accounted for when annualising pensionable income. There is an Annualisation Calculator on the NHSBSA website which you will need to complete alongside the Type 2 form. (A copy of this can be found at the bottom of this article)

  • Have I received any other relevant NHS pensionable earnings during the year that have been pensioned?

For example, Out of Hours (via GP SOLO form), appraisals or locum work (via Locum A and B forms). If so, these should be disclosed on the form along with the employee pension contributions that have been paid on those earnings. 

  • Have I had any periods of paid or unpaid leave whilst I was employed as a salaried GP?

For example, maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or adoption leave. There are specific rules to follow as a member of the NHS Pension Scheme who is employed but on leave. You can continue to be pensionable regardless of whether the leave is paid or unpaid but the method of calculating the employee and employer contributions payable is different to the normal rules.

Common issues

Below are some common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid:-

  • DON’T include other NHS pensionable salaried posts which are classed as ‘officer’ posts. These are subject to different pension scheme rules and so must not be disclosed on the form.
  • DON’T enter the taxable pay figure onto the form. This is different to your pensionable pay figure which is what the form requires. Your gross pay figure may also be different to your pensionable pay figure (see next point).
  • DON’T include non-pensionable earnings that you have been paid by your employer. Examples of a few types of remuneration that are not pensionable are: reimbursements of expenses (e.g. indemnity fees, mileage), bonuses, retainer payments. These will be included in your gross pay for the year but must be removed when determining your pensionable pay.
  • DON’T include your added years or other additional pension contributions with your employee tiered rate contributions. There is a separate box on the form in which you need to enter this amount.
  • DON’T include any previous end of year pension adjustment within the total employee contributions for the year. This should be pulled out as it is not relevant to the reconciliation exercise which is being undertaken by completing the form and will skew the result.

Correct level of contributions?

The form might calculate that you have a shortfall to pay as you have underpaid contributions or a refund to claim back as you have overpaid.

Why have I underpaid?

  • You might have other NHS pensionable earnings outside the Practice that your employer does not know about. Your employing Practice will determine the correct employee tiered rate contribution to your salary based on what they understand to be your total anticipated earnings for the year. If they are not aware of other earnings that you have and these push your total pensionable earnings into a higher tiered rate bracket, the tiered rate contribution % applied to your salary might be too low.
  • You might have worked ad-hoc additional sessions (overtime) during the year, in addition to your basic annual salary. Pay for additional sessions worked is pensionable. Depending on where your current level of pensionable salary sits in the earnings band for your tiered rate, this could be enough to push your total pensionable earnings into a higher tiered rate bracket. This may not have been picked up on by your employer in time to amend the tiered rate contribution % being applied to your salary.
  • You might have simply increased your normal weekly sessions and your basic annual rate of pay increased as a result. This may not have been picked up on by your employer in time to amend the tiered rate contribution % being applied to your salary

Why have I overpaid?

  • Your employing Practice may still believe you to have other relevant earnings outside of the Practice when in fact those earnings have ceased.
  • You might have simply reduced your normal weekly sessions and your basic annual rate of pay decreased as a result. This may not have been picked up on by your employer in time to amend the tiered rate contribution % being applied to your salary.

Once you have completed the Type 2 form, or your accountant has completed the form on your behalf, you should ensure that this is filed with Primary Care Services England (PCSE) ahead of the deadline and pass a copy of this to your employer(s). Have a discussion with your employer(s) about the resulting adjustment that is required to the contributions that you have paid and how and when this can be actioned.

There are things that you and your employer need to do in order to help make this system as smooth as possible.

Your responsibilities

  • To update your status on the GP Performer’s List via your PCSE Online account, either for changes in GP status (locum/salaried/partner) or for when you simply move employer.
  • You must pro-actively liaise with all relevant NHS organisations you work for to ensure you paid the correct tiered employee contributions and advise your employer(s) if you have other relevant NHS pensionable earnings that will affect this. GPs are legally required to pay the same rate of tiered contributions in respect of all your GP pensionable posts.
  • To declare your actual NHS pensionable earnings by completing and filing your Type 2 form with PCSE by 28 February each year.
  • To act upon and rectify any reconciliation adjustments calculated by the Type 2 form, including liaising with your employer(s). 

Your Employer’s responsibilities

  • To advise PCSE of your projected estimated annual pensionable pay at the start of the pension year for the year ahead. Your employer will pay monthly payments on account to NHS England, as a deduction from Practice income, based on this estimated annual pensionable pay.
  • To deduct employee pension contributions at source from your monthly salary via the payroll. Your employer will determine the correct employee tiered contribution rate to apply based on your annual pensionable pay. It is a good idea to check the pension contributions deducted on your payslip to make sure that this is what you would expect.
  • To increase the tiered rate % if advised by you that this is necessary due to other relevant NHS pensionable earnings outside of the Practice.

PCSE Online – GP Pensions platform 

GPs who are members of the NHS Pensions Scheme as a GP Partner, Salaried GP or Locum GP, can use PCSE Online for a number of administrative tasks including submitting End of Year pensions certificates and Self-Assessment forms. There is further guidance on this on PCSE’s website. Salaried GPs & Assistant GPs - Primary Care Support England

You are also able to check (via your own PCSE Online account) that your estimated annual pensionable pay is in line with your current salary from your employing Practice. You can also use this facility to enter any other relevant NHS Practitioner earnings. Estimate - Primary Care Support England

Any changes you make via your PCSE Online account will automatically override and update the Practice’s Estimates form (but you might want to let them know of the changes you have made in case your employer reverts it back to what it was before). 

Total Reward Statement (TRS)

Once PCSE have processed the pension form, they need to pass the relevant details from the form onto the NHS Pensions Agency who will automatically update your Total Reward Statement (TRS).  There are two TRS updates each year, in August and December.  If the form has been filed on time then your TRS should be updated in August 2023 to include the 2021/22 pension data received from PCSE, and we recommend that you check that this has been done by viewing your TRS.

You should be able to view your TRS by visiting this website logging in using your GOV.UK Verify account or ESR Employee Self Service user account.

If you are unable to view your TRS or it is blank, you should contact the NHS Pensions Agency (email: nhsbsa.trs@nhsbsa.nhs.uk). It may be that your pension data has not yet been processed or you require a manual statement to be sent via post.

You should be able to obtain a free statement each year and we recommend that you save or print a copy for your records. Once a new TRS is generated you will no longer be able to view historic statements.

What if I don’t complete the forms?

If you do not complete the form each year then your NHS Pension Scheme membership record will not be up-to-date, which will mean there will be gaps in your record of pensionable earnings. If your record is not up-to-date you will not be able to obtain an accurate estimate of your future NHS pension benefits.

You may not feel the impact of this in the early stages of your career but the knock-on effect will become more significant as you get closer to retirement and are looking to take your pension benefits.

How do I get my pension records up-to-date?

The first year these Type 2 forms became a requirement was for the pension year 2009/10 (1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010).

 The BMA negotiated an amnesty for previous years where members may not have completed their Type 2 forms. The amnesty form (found below) covers the pension years from 2009/10 through to 2016/17 and this is available to download from the NHSBSA website

If you know you have not completed a Type 2 form for one of these years then you can do this now but you must use the amnesty form.

The Type 2 pension forms for the years 2017/18 through to 2021/22 are also available to download from the NHSBSA website.

Please note that your NHS pension record can only be updated sequentially. If there are records missing for older pension years the more recent years cannot be updated. Therefore, if you are concerned that you have not completed the forms for previous years it is important to start with the earliest year and work forwards to the present day.

If you know that you have completed the forms but your pension scheme membership record does not reflect this then you should contact PCSE to raise an enquiry. Be prepared to have to resubmit the form(s) to PCSE.

The Annualisation Calculator can be found on the NHSBSA website.

If you need any advice on completion of the Type 2 form for the current year or for previous years




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