If the total pension growth across your NHS Pension Schemes is more than the annual allowance (AA), you'll be sent a PSS.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have a deadline for us to send statements to members which is 6 October following the end of the tax year.
We can only calculate your pension growth if we receive the annual update of pensionable pay and service from your employer. If your employer sends this annual update after 5 July, we’ll send you a statement within 3 months of receiving the annual update.
You can request a statement if you’ve not exceeded the AA. This is known as an ‘On Demand’ statement.
If you ask for an ‘On Demand’ statement before 6 July, we have until 6 October or 3 months after the request is received to send you a statement. This is if all the information needed to calculate the AA is available.
Your statement is calculated on information provided by your employing authority (EA).
If you think your statement is incorrect, contact your EA to check the annual update they’ve sent is correct.
A third-party can request a statement to be sent to you if they have a valid letter of authority (LOA).
You can find an example of a statement in the ‘Pensions saving guide'.
Members affected by rollback
For members affected by the Public Service Pensions Remedy (PSPR), we cannot send you a 2023/24 PSS until we've sent you a Remediable Pension Savings Statement (RPSS).
We've been working to make sure members who need an RPSS and PSS receive them as soon as possible.
All public service pension schemes are facing similar challenges around timings. We're speaking with them regularly to make sure shared guidance is available for affected members.
Members who did not receive their PSS for the tax year 2023/24 before the deadline for Self Assessment tax returns, HMRC confirmed you must complete your Self Assessment as normal using a provisional figure by the 31 January 2025 deadline. This is a figure calculated to the best of your ability.
There will not be a financial penalty from HMRC if the provisional figure you use is incorrect if you’ve tried to calculate it to the best of your ability and kept records of the calculation. Even if the figure needs to be changed, you’ll not receive a late-filing penalty.
Guidance on how to estimate a provisional tax charge.
When you receive your PSS, you must update your return with the actual figure within one year of the 31 January 2025 deadline.
If the actual figure is higher than the provisional figure you provided and you’ve paid the tax charge yourself rather than using Scheme Pays, HMRC will apply interest due on the difference.
If you only complete a Self Assessment because of your pension tax liability and you'll not incur an AA charge for 2023-24, you must tell HMRC you no longer need to submit a Self Assessment return.
There should not be a penalty but interest may be charged if you:
- have reasonable grounds to think you've not breached the £60,000 standard AA amount
- do not submit a Self Assessment tax return by the 31 January 2025 deadline
- have an AA charge when you receive your delayed PSS for year 2023-24
In our information about the HMRC Digital Service, you can find out more about how to rectify AA charges for the remedy period tax years and 2022/23 tax year.