Submitting your GP practice’s Estimate of NHS Pensionable Profits form

Every GP surgery has to complete and submit an Estimate of NHS Pensionable Profits (ENP) form to PCSE (or the Local Health Board in Wales) each year. Ordinarily, the deadline for submission is 28 February, however, given the overhaul of the NHS pension this year, the ENP form hasn’t been released by PCSE yet and we assume this date will be pushed back for 2024.

One form needs to be completed per practice and this should include the name of all GP partners and salaried GPs along with the individual’s estimated income from the practice for the year ahead.

If a GP plans to perform and pension any ad hoc GP NHS work (such as out of hours, locum or ICB work), an estimate of this income should also be included on the form. This estimate of total pensionable income is used to set a provisional tiered employee pension contribution rate, and it is this that determines the pension contribution taken via the GMS/PMS statement over the forthcoming year.

If a GP joins the practice after the ENP form has been submitted or if the estimated income of a GP changes, the practice should submit a mid-year ENP which details the revised information.

If a practice fails to submit an ENP form, the GPs’ employee pension contributions will be taken at the top tier rate regardless of their actual pensionable earnings.

At the end of the year, GPs in the NHS pension scheme should submit either a type 1 (GP partners) or type 2 (salaried GPs) annual certificate of pensionable profits to PCSE/the LHB. This will include actual pensionable earnings in the previous year as well as actual employee pension contributions paid. The certificate calculates the difference between the contributions paid and the contributions due.

If a GP has underpaid contributions in respect of their income, PCSE/the LHB will recover the arrears from the practice. If a GP has overpaid contributions, the practice is reimbursed.

The deadline for submission of the annual certificate of pensionable profits is 31 March this year. The idea is that any adjustments to pension contributions are made via the April GMS/PMS statement although, in practice, we find that there’s often a delay in the adjustments being made and these can occur at any point in the months following submission of the certificate.

It's now possible for ENP forms to be submitted via PCSE online and this is encouraged to make sure that contributions are collected promptly and at the correct tier rate.

It’s important that the ENP is completed with the most up-to-date information so that the pension contributions taken are accurate and year-end adjustments are kept as low as possible, thereby aiding cashflow for the practice and partners.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss this with a member of our Medical accounting team, please email enquiry@larking-gowen.co.uk.

Jo Benton