Live Q&A top ten questions

You need to submit Type 2 forms for all of the years that you have been a salaried GP, and you can do this on PCSE Online for the following years:

• 2015/16
• 2016/17
• 2017/18
• 2018/19
• 2019/20
• 2020/21
• 2021/22
• 2022/23

Alternatively, you can downloaded the Excel form for each year from the NHS Pensions website and submit them via the contact us form on the PCSE website.

If you have underpaid employee contributions due in relation to Locum work, you need to follow the locum shortfall process found on page 16 of the GP Pensions 2023 24 Type 2 self assessment form guide.
 
If you have overpaid Locum contributions, you will receive a refund from NHS England in due course.

If the Solo work was for an ICB or Out of Hours (OOH) provider, you should show your completed Type 2 form to the Payroll Manager responsible for pension contributions so that they can arrange:

• a refund for you if you have overpaid employee contributions
• to collect the arrears from you if you have underpaid employee contributions.

If you have overpaid employee contributions or Solo appraisal work, PCSE will submit a refund request to NHS England to be paid to direct.

If you have underpaid employee contributions for Solo appraisal work, PCSE will contact you with instructions on how to pay the arrears to NHS England.

You should show your completed Type 2 form to the Practice Administrator or Payroll Manager responsible for pension contributions at the practice.
 
If you have overpaid employee contributions, the practice will arrange a refund for you (normally via payroll) once your Type 2 form has been processed.
 
If you have underpaid contributions, the practice will arrange to collect the arrears from you (normally via payroll) once your Type 2 form has been processed.

The "Employer pay" box on the Type 2 form is used to record the pay you would have received if you had not been on authorised leave, such as maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave or sick leave.
 
Your tier rate is based on your “Employer Pay” but you only pay employee contributions on your actual pensionable pay.
 
For example, if your full salary would have been £50,000 per year, but you only received £25,000 due to maternity leave, you would enter £50,000 as the Employer pay and £25,000 as Actual Pensionable Pay.

The tier rate for your employee contributions would be 10.0% (based on £50,000), if this was your only role.

Your Employee Contribution Statement on PCSE Online shows the contributions that have been deducted from the practice based on the Pensionable Pay and Tier Rate figures they entered on the Annual Estimate they submitted at the start of the pension year. It is quite common that these figures differ from what you see on your payslips.
 
On your 2023/24 Type 2 form, you need to enter the employee contribution figure from your month 12 payslip in Box 2a (Conts already paid by the salaried GP). The figure from your PCSE Online Employee Contribution Statement should be entered in Box 2c.

Please note, Box 2c is not mandatory.

If you have been continuous practitioner employment for the full year, your tier rate is based on your total pensionable pay for the year, for example, the sum of all your earnings for the 12 months.
 
If you have had any gaps in practitioner employment, you need to use the annualisation calculator to determine your tier rate.

Pensionable Pay is the total gross pay for a salaried post. This can be found on your month 12 payslip if you have worked the full year, or the total / cumulative gross pay on your last payslip if you left the post during the year.
 
For Solo work, your total gross pay can be found on your Annual Solo form.
 
For Locum work, pensionable pay is 90% of your locum fees and can be found on the Locum A and B forms that you will have submitted if you pensioned your locum work. 

You need to use the annualisation calculator to determine your tier rate for the pension year if you did not have continuous practitioner employment for the full pension year.
 
Here are some examples of where you do need to annualise:

• Registrar to Salaried/Solo GP:
  • if you were a Registrar until June 2023 and started a role as a salaried or Solo GP in July 2023, you need to complete the annualisation calculator.
     
• Salaried GP who retired or opted out:
  • if you have been a salaried GP for a number of years and retired or opted out of the pension scheme during 2023/24, you need to complete the annualisation calculator.
    ​
• Locum Work:
  • if you have only done locum work, you need to annualise your income to ensure you have paid the correct tier rate. However, locum-only GPs do not submit a Type 2 form.

 
Here are some examples of where you do not need to annualise:

• Salaried to Partner with no gaps:
  • if you were salaried from 1 April to 30 September 2023 and then became a partner from 1 October 2023 onwards, you do not need to annualise. Your tier rate is based on the combined pensionable pay from both roles.
     
• Solo Work:​
  • if you have done any Solo work and had a continuous contract for the pension year, you do not need to annualise.

You must include any roles that are treated as practitioner in the NHS pension scheme:

• Salaried GP in a practice
• Solo work for Out of Hours, ICB or Appraisal team
  • include Solo work if you have a contract for service (check with your employer if you are unsure)
• Locum Work if you have other Type 2 work:

Locum work is included on the Type 2 form if you have other Type 2 work. Locum-only GPs do not submit a Type 2 form.
 
You must not include any roles that are treated as officer in the NHS Pension Scheme:

• GP trainee
• Hospital post
• Academic post

Always check with your employer before completing your Type 2 form if you are unsure if a role is treated as officer or practitioner in the NHS Pension scheme.