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 2023/24 (which can be found at the bottom of this article) is available to download from the NHS BSA website along with some guidance notes to assist you. The deadline for filing the form is 28 February 2025.
Key points to consider
When completing the form, you should be asking yourself:-
Have I held continuous pensionable service during the year?
If the answer is no, then you must annualise your pensionable income to determine the correct employee tiered rate % to apply. There is an Annualisation Calculator on the NHS BSA 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 Practitioner pensionable earnings during the year that have been pensioned?
For example, Type 1 GP Partnership, Out of Hours (reported via GP SOLO form), appraisals or GP locum work (reported via GP Locum A and B forms). If so, these should be disclosed on the Type 2 pension 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:-
DO NOT include other NHS pensionable salaried posts which are classed as “Officer” posts (not “Practitioner”). These are subject to different pension scheme rules and so must not be disclosed on the form.
DO NOT 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).
DO NOT 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.
DO NOT 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.
DO NOT 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 Practitioner 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 Practitioner 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 Practitioner 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 Practitioner 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. Primary Care Support England | PCSE
There is further guidance on this on PCSE’s website. Salaried and Solo GPs - Type 2 Self Assessment | PCSE
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 of Pensionable Profits | PCSE
Any changes you make via your PCSE Online account will 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 2025 to include the 2023/24 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 logging in to your “My NHS Pension” online portal. My NHS Pension - Welcome to your NHS Pension Portal
If you do not have access to this you can call the NHS Pensions members helpline to request a copy of your TRS on 0300 330 1346. Alternatively you can email: nhsbsa.trs@nhsbsa.nhs.uk . If you do contact NHS Pensions to request a copy of your TRS then it would also be worthwhile asking for a copy of your “service extract”, which shows more detail behind those figures reported on the TRS.
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 NHS BSA website.
If you know that 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 2023/24 are also available to download from the NHS BSA 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.