Background
Primary Care Support England (PCSE) is delivered by Capita on behalf of NHS England. Amongst other functions, they are responsible for the administration of pension contributions relating to work undertaken for NHS England in a Primary Care setting that is considered as practitioner for pensions purposes by NHS Pensions.
One of the biggest challenges that GPs in England face is out of date and inaccurate pension records, with “missing years” of pensions data due to PCSE’s mismanagement of pension records. A missing year(s) is where the record of your pensionable pay may be incomplete for a specific year(s) and therefore your NHS pension record will not be up to date. The scale of the problem is likely to mean that a significant proportion, running into the many thousands, are affected.
The BMA’s Pensions Committee meet with Capita, NHS England and NHS Pensions once every two months. We have been consistently highlighting the failures of Capita, and the significant importance of them resolving issues as soon as possible, especially with the upcoming McCloud remedy decisions. GPs should be able to view accurate and up to date information about their pension and the new NHS Pensions “My Pensions Portal” is also not fit for purpose in providing such information.
This is primarily a data issue, and your accrued pension entitlement will be honoured. However, it is important that your actual pension record is correct and up to date to ensure that you can make appropriate decisions about your pension, including around the McCloud remedy, and assessing any annual allowance tax liability. Having an up-to-date record will also enable any pension payments upon retirement to be paid in a timely manner.
A step by step guide to ensure you have accurate pension records
1. Request information about your pension from NHS Pensions
We have produced two template emails for members detailing the documentation we suggest you request from NHS Pensions as a first step. This information will help you to identify any missing years in your PCSE records.
The BMA would like to have an overview of how many members are contacting NHS Pensions in relation to this issue, so that we can raise the severity of the problem with the Government.
Please note: By using these templates, you are agreeing to the BMA being copied into the email you send to NHS Pensions, so that we can report on the number of members using the guidance. If you do not consent for the BMA to be copied in, please remove the BMA email from the BCC box on the template email.
2. Check your PCSE Pensions Online Portal and submit the required forms
Once you receive your 05 and AA statement from NHS Pensions, this will allow you to see your record up to and including 2022-23 and help you identify which years are missing in your pension record. You can then log into your PCSE Pensions Online account to see if there are specific years where there are missing type 1 or 2 forms. As PCSE’s Pensions Online system is updated in sequential order, by submitting the required type 1 or type 2 form it should help PCSE bring your record up to date, and subsequently your NHS Pension record.
If you have submitted all of your required forms to PCSE, and your record is still not up to date, we suggest that you raise a complaint with PCSE.
3. Raise a complaint with PCSE
If the information provided to you by NHS Pensions shows there are missing practitioner years, we suggest that you raise this as a complaint to PCSE and we have produced a template letter to aid you. If any missing years relate to service which is pensionable under the “officer” section of pension scheme, then this will need to be taken up with NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA).
As a GP you are a member of the practitioner part of the NHS Pension scheme. You may also hold officer roles (for example if you are employed by an NHS Trust or ICB) or if you were part of the NHS Pension scheme prior to becoming a GP (i.e. as a resident doctor), those roles would have been in the officer part of the scheme and these officer roles are not managed by PCSE.
This stage may require you to provide information regarding Type 1 and Type 2 forms that you may or may have not submitted.
All complaints should be acknowledged by PCSE within 3 working days and a unique case reference number will be provided. PCSE’s complaints policy states that they aim to resolve all complaints within 40 calendar days. Set a reminder in your calendar as to when the 40 calendar days is up.
PCSE should not close a complaint until it is resolved, nor should they ever reissue you with a new complaint case reference number on an ongoing case. It is imperative that you respond to any additional information requests from PCSE in order to get your record up to date, otherwise after 90 days they may close your case.
4. Escalate the complaint to NHS England
If your complaint is not fully resolved by PCSE within calendar 40 days, then you should escalate your complaint via email to NHS England.
You should provide all relevant background information and supporting correspondence to enable NHS England to review your complaint. We have produced a template letter to help you.
5. Seek compensation as a result of maladministration by PCSE
Once your complaint has been resolved you can seek compensation relating to PCSE’s administration of your pension. There are two types of compensation you can claim for 1) compensation for non-financial injustice and 2) compensation for financial injustice/loss. Claims for compensation should be submitted to [email protected]
6. Ask for the Pensions Ombudsman’s help
If you are still dissatisfied with the response you have received from both PCSE and NHS England, you may wish to complain to the Pensions Ombudsman who are an independent organisation set up by law to investigate complaints or disputes about pension schemes. Please ensure that your complaint meets the criteria under which the Ombudsman can investigate. The Ombudsman will also require you to have exhausted the PCSE and NHS England complaints procedures first.
You can submit a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman using their online form. Alternatively you can request an application form by email.
7. Report PCSE to the Pensions Regulator
The Pensions Regulator is the UK regulator of workplace pension schemes. If you do not feel that PCSE are sufficiently managing your pension records then you can report them to the Pensions Regulator via their online form, or via email or by phone at 0345 600 7060.
7. BMA Pensions Department
In relation to issues with missing years, please raise your complaint with PCSE initially, and if you do not receive a response from PCSE after the 40 calendar days or you need further support, the BMA Pensions Department are available to help at [email protected]. Please include your BMA membership number in your correspondence.