NHS Pension Form A: the practical details GPs miss

NHS Pension Form A records a single locum session for the employing practice. Form B aggregates your sessions into a month and submits them. Most locum GPs know about Form B. Fewer get Form A right, and the consequences are the same: a missing pensionable month.

What Form A does

For every pensionable locum session, the practice completes Form A confirming: the date, hours, amount paid, and that superannuation contributions are being deducted. Without a Form A for each session, the session is not pensionable, full stop.

Who fills it in

The practice, not the locum. This is the bit that catches new locum GPs out. You cannot submit Form A yourself, the practice's finance or manager must. Your job is to:

1. Hand the practice the completed Form A at the session (or send it by email)
2. Chase if you do not receive confirmation back within a week
3. Keep a copy of every Form A you issued

What the practice must confirm

• Your GMC number and name
• The date and hours of the session
• The gross payment
• That the practice has deducted your superannuation contribution from the payment and will pay it to NHSBSA
• The practice's signature or stamp

The common mistake

Practices sometimes refuse to complete Form A on the basis that "we don't run pension for locums". This is a misunderstanding. Any GMS, PMS, or APMS practice is required to include the locum's pensionable session in their Type 2 Form for the year if the locum wants it pensionable. Point them to the PCSE locum pension guidance and to their contract.

If a practice genuinely refuses, the session is not pensionable. You can choose to decline the work or accept it as non-pensionable. Decide before the session, not after.

Where Form B comes in

You collect all your Forms A for the month, total up your pensionable pay, calculate your contribution tier, and submit Form B to PCSE (England) by the 10th of the month after the work. Miss the 10th and you forfeit the pensionable service for that month. There is no appeal.

Contribution tiers for 2026/27

The tier you pay depends on your projected annual pensionable income. Once you know the rate, it applies to every pensionable pound for the year:

• Up to £13,759: 5.9%
• £13,760 to £27,431: 6.8%
• £27,432 to £32,548: 8.5%
• £32,549 to £49,909: 9.9%
• £49,910 to £62,024: 10.5%
• Over £62,024: 12.5%

Pick the tier based on a realistic projection of your annual pensionable earnings. If your projection changes mid-year, you can change tier in the next Form B submission.

Where Form A fits in the paperwork chain

Practice session happens → Practice completes Form A → You collect all Forms A for the month → You complete and submit Form B by the 10th of the following month → PCSE processes → Pensionable service credited to your record.

Keeping on top of it

A simple month-on-month workflow:

• Keep a spreadsheet or use Sessional to log every pensionable session as you do it
• Tick off "Form A received" within a week
• On the 1st of each month, start preparing Form B with the previous month's sessions
• Submit Form B by the 7th of the month at the latest, not the 10th. Margin for error matters.

If Form A is lost

Ask the practice to reissue it. If the practice has dissolved, closed, or changed hands, you may be able to reconstruct the session from your own records and explain to PCSE. This is handled case by case and takes months. Avoid relying on the reconstruction path.

Sessional stores the Form A for each pensionable session alongside the session record and prepares the monthly Form B total automatically. See our pension guide for the full process.