If your NHS pension grew by more than the annual allowance in 2025/26, NHS Pensions should have written to you by 6 October 2026. That letter is your Pension Savings Statement, and for many consultants and GPs it is the most important piece of pension paperwork they receive all year.
This, however, is not an infallible process! Whether it has landed on your doormat or not, it’s time to act. In this article, we explain what the statement is, why yours may not have arrived, what to check, and what to do if you have gone over your allowance.
What is a Pension Savings Statement?
A Pension Savings Statement (PSS) shows how much your NHS pension grew over the tax year. HMRC calls this growth your pension input amount, and it is measured against the annual allowance: the most your pension savings can grow each year before a tax charge applies.
For 2025/26 the standard annual allowance is £60,000. However, if your income is high enough, you may have a lower tapered annual allowance. Tapering applies when your threshold income exceeds £200,000 and your adjusted income exceeds £260,000, and it can reduce the allowance to a minimum of £10,000.
If you think you may be affected, speak to your accountant or go to the government website.
NHS Pensions must send you a statement automatically if your growth in the scheme went over the standard £60,000.
Please bear in mind these statements only reflect your NHS pension and will have no idea what has been paid into any private pensions. Speak to your financial adviser if you are both a member of the NHS pension scheme and contributing to a personal pension.
Similarly, if you are only over a tapered allowance, you may not receive a statement automatically either. It is best to be proactive and well informed here. You can request a statement in writing, and the scheme then has three months to provide it, or until 06 October each year, if that is later.
Why hasn’t my statement arrived?
There are a few common reasons:
- You didn’t go over £60,000 in the NHS scheme. In this case, no automatic statement is due, but that doesn’t always mean you are in the clear, particularly if tapering applies or you pay into another pension, as mentioned above.
- Your employer sent your information late. The 06 October date only applies if NHS pensions had your pay and membership details by 06 July. If they came in later, even if through no fault of your own, the scheme has three months from receiving them.
- You are a GP partner or other practitioner. Your growth can’t be calculated until your Annual Certificate of Pensionable Profit has been completed and your earnings certified. As a result, GPs’ statements often arrive well after October. Sadly, this delay can be considerable, as any experienced GP will attest.
Delays have been a real problem recently. Earlier this year, NHS pensions warned that some 2024/25 statements could not be issued before the 31 January Self Assessment deadline. It told members who might be over the allowance to estimate their position and file anyway. It’s far from a bulletproof, slick process and always works in the ‘past tense’.
The takeaway is simple: a missing statement does not mean there is no tax to pay.
If your statement has arrived
Take a leaf out of Father Christmas’s book (too early to mention Christmas?) check it once, then check again! NHS pension statements have contained errors before, so don’t just file yours away. In particular, check:
Your pensionable pay. Does it match your payslips and P60 for the year? Look out for missed pay rises, back pay, or extra sessions counted twice.
Your service history. Breaks, part-time work, and employer changes can all affect the figures.
Which schemes are included. If you have both 1995/2008 and 2015 scheme benefits, make sure both have been taken into account.
Whether you can carry forward. You may be able to carry forward allowance you didn’t use in the previous three tax years, which can reduce or wipe out a charge. You’ll need your figures for those years to work this out.
If something looks wrong, contact NHS Pensions straight away. Corrections can take time, and the Self Assessment deadline waits for nobody!
What to do if you’ve gone over your allowance
Going over the annual allowance doesn’t have to be a crisis. These steps will help you get it right:
1. Work out whether there is actually a charge. Carry forward may cover some or all of the excess. If you might be tapered, you’ll also need to work out your threshold and adjusted income, which means including private practice, rental and investment income. If this is all double dutch to you, it’s time to speak to your specialist medical financial advisor or accountant to help translate.
2. Declare it on your tax return. Any charge for 2025/26 goes in the pension savings tax charges section of your Self Assessment return, due by 31 January 2027. If you are still waiting for a statement, HMRC expects you to make a genuine estimate and correct it later if needed.
3. Decide how to pay. You can pay the charge yourself, or ask NHS Pensions to pay it through Scheme Pays. This means the scheme pays the charge and your pension is reduced in return. Mandatory Scheme Pays applies where your charge is over £2,000, and your NHS growth alone exceeded the standard £60,000. If you are only over a tapered allowance, NHS Pensions may still offer voluntary Scheme Pays.
4. Watch the Scheme Pays deadline. For a 2025/26 charge, your election needs to reach NHS Pensions by 31 July 2027.
5. Plan for this year. If you went over in 2025/26, you may well do so again in 2026/27. It’s worth reviewing your position now, rather than waiting for next October.
Scheme Pays isn’t automatically the right answer. Paying the charge yourself keeps your pension intact, while Scheme Pays protects your cash today. Which is better depends on your wider circumstances, so it’s a decision worth discussing with a specialist financial adviser.
Final thoughts
The annual allowance is one of the most complicated parts of the NHS pension scheme, and the paperwork doesn’t always arrive when it should. Whether your statement is sitting in your inbox or hasn’t arrived at all, it’s your responsibility to get your tax return right.
The good news is that a little planning now can save a lot of stress in January. If you would like help checking your statement, working out a charge, or deciding whether Scheme Pays is right for you, get in touch and arrange an appointment with your specialist adviser.
This article is not specific advice. We would always suggest that you get specialist advice in this area.