Exclusive About 25 practices in London have been affected by a ‘significant’ issue with pension contributions, Pulse has learnt.
North East London ICB told practices last week that it was made aware of an issue where pension contributions ‘have been refunded’ by Primary Care Support England (PCSE) this month, according to communication seen by Pulse.
Pulse understands that PCSE has ‘mistakenly classified’ the affected practices in Tower Hamlets as ‘independent providers’, rendering them ineligible for NHS Pension.
PCSE, which handles back-office functions for GPs such as administration of pensions and transfer of medical records, has been supplied by the company Capita since 2015.
The ICB said it met with PCSE last week and they confirmed this was ‘an internal error’ made by PCSE whereby pensions going back to January 2024 were refunded to about 25 practices.
Practice teams were reassured that the error will not affect pension contributions ‘in the long run’, as it was caused by PCSE, but resolving the issue ‘may take some time’.
Capita clarified to Pulse that the issue will be corrected in March’s contractual payments.
A Capita spokesperson said: ‘The ICB identified an error where incorrect refunds were made to practices in their February 2025 contractual payments. This impacted 25 practices in one ICB area. The corrective adjustments will be made to practice’s March 2025 contractual payments and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.’
The ICB’s managing director of primary care Sarah See told practices: ‘We have been made aware that some practices may have been impacted by an issue where pension contributions have been refunded this month.
‘The ICB met with PCSE this week and they confirmed it was an internal error made by PCSE whereby pensions going back to January 2024 were refunded to about 25 Practices.
‘PCSE have implemented a new procedure to ensure this couldn’t happen again. They are currently working through the figures and will be uploading the corrections in March. PCSE will be writing out to all impacted practices next week. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.’
Pulse has contacted the ICB for comment.
GPs have experienced numerous problems with Capita’s performance, such as delays with the processing of their pensions at the start of retirement.
And a Pulse investigation revealed the scale of issues faced by GPs because of Capita’s poor administration.
Last year, the BMA claimed that thousands of GPs in England were experiencing significant issues with their pension records due to ‘maladministration’ by Capita.
Capita did this to me over a year ago – refunded over two years of pension contributions, fortunately we have good medical accountants who flagged it up and helped sort it out.