Hundreds of doctors received inaccurate pension savings statements for last year

Doctors are being ‘failed’ by their pension scheme administrator, the BMA has warned, after hundreds received inaccurate pension savings statements.  

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) must urgently rectify ‘completely unacceptable’ errors in doctors’ pensions savings statements (PSS), and should report itself to the pensions regulator over the mistakes, according to the union.

The BMA said that at least 757 doctors have received inaccurate statements for 2023/24, potentially preventing them from being able to complete self-assessment tax returns before the deadline at the end of the month, and causing ‘financial detriment and distress’.

The errors include ‘miscalculations of pension savings’, which are ‘distorting’ total amounts and making it ‘impossible’ for doctors to accurately report their tax status to HMRC.

The BMA warned that this compounds problems caused by the fact that tens of thousands of doctors have not yet received their Remedial Pensions Saving Statements and many have not received a pension savings statement for 2023/24.  

The union also said that they have highlighted to HMRC and to DHSC that if members are financially disadvantaged as a result of these errors and delays, they expect that they will be compensated.

In a letter to the NHSBSA last week, BMA pensions committee chair Dr Vishal Sharma said: ‘This is completely unacceptable. Failing to provide accurate pension savings information to scheme members in a timely fashion means that they are unable to complete self-assessment tax returns by the set deadline and may suffer financial detriment and further distress.

‘It is incredibly concerning that NHSBSA has let its members down again in what should be a standard business as usual process.

‘Such errors should have been picked up in internal quality assurance processes, long before PSSs were sent to all members.

‘This compounds the severe delays members have experienced in receiving their remedial pension savings statements and the fact that tens of thousands of these also had errors.’

The NHSBSA said they are aiming to reissue the affected statements ‘as a matter of urgency’ by the end of this week.

A spokesperson for the NHSBSA told Pulse: ‘We sincerely apologise for this error and any inconvenience it may have caused to the 757 affected NHS Pension Scheme members – our medical and healthcare colleagues whose invaluable service and dedication is so vital and so valued. 

‘We’re aiming to reissue the affected 2023/24 PSS as a matter of urgency by the end of this week. We’re working with the BMA to provide support to members.

‘In the meantime, following guidance from HMRC, we are advising NHS Pension Scheme members to complete their Self Assessment as normal, before the 31 January 2025 deadline, using a provisional figure.

‘HMRC has confirmed that there will not be a financial penalty if the provisional figure is incorrect, as long as the Scheme member has genuinely tried to calculate it to the best of their ability and keeps records of the calculation. 

‘Even if this figure needs to be changed later, the member will not receive a late-filing penalty. 

‘When the member receives their correct PSS, they should update their Self Assessment return with the actual figure – Scheme members need to do this within a year of the 31 January 2025 deadline.’

Last month, the Government unveiled proposed changes to the NHS pension scheme, including modifications to clarify the way GP pensionable earnings are calculated.