NHS Pension Form A and B

A plain English guide for GP locums

NHS pension forms are one of the most consistently confusing parts of being a GP locum. The instructions are dense, the deadlines are easy to miss, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real: missed contributions that cannot be recovered.

This is a plain English explanation of what Form A and Form B are, how they work, and how to stay on top of them.

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The basic structure

The NHS Pension Scheme for GP locums works differently from the way it works for salaried GPs and partners. Instead of contributions being handled automatically through payroll, you and each practice you work for have to report your pensionable earnings manually, session by session and year by year.

Two forms do this work.

Form A is completed by the practice after each session. It records your pensionable earnings from that session and the employee and employer contributions due.

Form B is your annual summary. You complete it at the end of each scheme year, pulling together all of your Form A data, and submit it to NHS England. The deadline is 30 September each year for the scheme year ending the previous 31 March.

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Form A in detail

Form A is the practice's responsibility to complete, not yours. After each session you work, the practice should give you a copy signed by both you and the authorised signatory at the practice.

In practice, many practices are disorganised about this. You may need to chase them. It is worth doing: without a completed Form A for a session, that session cannot be included in your annual pension calculation.

Keep copies of every Form A you receive. Do not rely on the practice to have them available when you need them at the end of the year.

What goes on Form A:

• Your name and NHS number
• The practice details
• The date and type of session
• Your pensionable pay for the session
• The employee contribution rate and amount
• The employer contribution rate and amount

The contribution rates are tiered based on your pensionable earnings. Your employee contribution rate is applied to the pensionable pay for each individual session rather than to your total annual income, which means it can vary between sessions depending on how each session's rate falls within the tiers.

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Form B in detail

Form B is your annual declaration to NHS England. You complete it using the information from all of your Form As for the scheme year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

What Form B records:

• Your total pensionable earnings from all GP locum sessions during the year
• A summary of all the practices you worked for
• Your total employee contributions for the year
• Confirmation that the information is accurate

You submit Form B to your NHS England regional team. The deadline of 30 September is firm. Missing it means your contributions for that year may not be processed, and you cannot go back and reclaim them.

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Common mistakes

Not collecting Form A at the time. Chasing practices months later is difficult and sometimes impossible if staff have changed. Get Form A signed before you leave or within a few days of the session.

Losing track of which sessions have Form As. If you work across multiple practices and do a large number of sessions, it is easy to lose track. Keeping a running log session by session is much easier than reconstructing it.

Missing the Form B deadline. 30 September each year. Put it in your calendar now for every future year.

Errors in pensionable pay figures. Check that the pensionable pay on each Form A matches what you actually invoiced and received. Discrepancies need to be resolved before Form B is submitted.

Not joining the scheme at all. Some locums, particularly those starting out, are not aware they can join the NHS Pension Scheme. You are not automatically enrolled as a locum. You need to opt in.

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Is it worth it?

Yes, for most locums. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme, which means your pension is based on your career average earnings rather than on the investment performance of a pot of money. The employer contribution (currently 23.7% of pensionable pay) represents significant additional value on top of your take-home pay. The administrative overhead is real, but the financial benefit is substantial for anyone planning to rely on their pension in retirement.

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Making it easier

The reason Form A and Form B are so painful for most locums is that the data lives in multiple places: a form from this practice, an invoice for that session, a payment received from somewhere else. Keeping it all in one place from the start is the only thing that makes it manageable.

Sessional (sessional.co.uk) generates NHS Pension Form A and B for GP locums from the session data you have already entered. Free to start.

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Pension rules, contribution rates, and deadlines change. Always verify current requirements with NHS England and the NHS Business Services Authority. This guide reflects the position as understood in 2025 to 2026.