Employers are required in legislation to provide information to NHS Pensions which enables pension savings statements to be provided to members. This statement informs members whether they have exceeded the annual allowance limit in the NHS Pension Scheme. The requirements specify that employers must provide pay (and membership) information to NHS Pensions by 6 July following the end of the tax year.
We are expecting an influx of requests for annual allowance statements in July. In order to be able to respond to these requests, we must have the available pay and membership information from employers for 2020/21 by 6 July 2021 (information for previous years should already have been received). If a member’s record is not updated by the employer by this date, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may impose fines and charges on employers of:
- Up to £300 per member, and
- £60 per day per member until the member’s records are updated.
If the information is not provided, we will not be able to conduct the necessary calculations to check whether the member has exceeded the annual allowance limit. We will not be able to generate a pension savings statement and notify potentially affected members in a timely manner. Members could be subject to fines and late payment penalties from HMRC.
Special arrangements were made for PCSE/NHS England in relation to the provision of information for GPs once their end of year certificates have been received and the provision of pension information to NHS Pensions after HMRC’s deadline.