NHS pension contribution rates to be amended from 1 October

As reported by the British Medical Journal, consultations took place to amend the NHS pension contribution tiers in all the nation

In England and Wales the employee contribution tiers are being amended in phases with the first change coming on 1 October 2022.

The changes include the removal of the higher tiers, a change from basing officer contribution on whole time equivalent earnings to actual earnings, an alignment with Agenda for Change pay awards and an eventual reduction to six tiers.

GPs continue to be subject to annualising in England and Wales which means that actual income is grossed up to that which would be earned in 365 days of the scheme year (1 April to 31 March). Annualising mainly impacts GP locums who do not have an underlying type one or type two role (partner, salaried or Out of Hours GP role). Read guidance on annualising (NHSBSA).

Separate officer roles held will initially be viewed separately and the contribution for each role based on the actual annual earnings for each individual role, meaning that different tiered rates could apply where an officer holds more than one role. Aggregating all officer roles, for the purposes of assessing a tiered rate, is being explored.

Pension scheme contributions are net of tax; therefore the true cost of the contributions is lower than the gross rates quoted above.

For higher rate tax payers, contributions at the rate of 12.5% would equate to a net 7.5%, contributions at the rate of 13.5% would equate to a net 8.1% and contributions at the rate of 14.5% would equate to a net 8.7%.