NHS Pension Form A: the practical details GPs miss

NHS Pension Form A records a single locum session with the organisation that engaged you. 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 there is a Form A: you complete it, and the organisation that engaged you signs its part, 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

You do, and the organisation that engaged you completes and signs its part. This is the bit that catches new locum GPs out: the form is yours to complete, and organisations do not generate it for you. Your job is to:

1. Complete Form A for the session and hand or email it to the organisation
2. Chase if you do not get the signed form back within a week
3. Keep a copy of every Form A you issued

What the organisation must confirm

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

The common mistake

Organisations sometimes refuse to sign 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 an organisation 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).

Two dates govern it, and they are not the same date:

• The 10-week rule. You cannot pension a period of freelance GP locum work that ended more than 10 weeks ago. The 10 weeks run from the end of the period of work, not from the end of the month and not from when you were paid. Forms received after 10 weeks are rejected.
• The 7th of the following month. Both the employee and the employer contributions are due to PCSE no later than the 7th day of the month after the month in which you received the fee. A fee received in June is due by 7 July.

Source: PCSE, "Submit Locum A and B forms".

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 £13,259: 5.2%
• £13,260 to £28,854: 6.5%
• £28,855 to £35,155: 8.3%
• £35,156 to £52,778: 9.8%
• £52,779 to £67,668: 10.7%
• Over £67,668: 12.5%

These are the England and Wales rates for 2026/27. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own tables.

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

Session happens → You complete Form A and the organisation signs its part → You collect all Forms A for the month → You complete and submit Form B, with the contributions due by the 7th of the month after the fee was received and the work itself inside the 10 weeks → 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 signed and returned" within a week
• On the 1st of each month, start preparing Form B with the previous month's sessions
• Submit Form B and pay the contributions by the 7th, and never let a period of work sit for 10 weeks

If Form A is lost

Ask the organisation to sign a replacement. If it 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.

For information only, not regulated advice. Check with a qualified accountant or adviser.