NHS Pensions

Joiners

Use the Scheme Identifier to help you identify which Section or Scheme an employee should be in.

What you need to do

Read the employer guide to joiners and eligibility (PDF: 537KB)
Read the new joiner factsheet (PDF: 347KB) for instructions on how to enrol a new member into the Scheme and complete the new employee questionnaire (Word: 325KB).
You may also find the capacity codes list (PDF: 243KB) useful.

Forms and spreadsheets you may need (non POL users)

Joining or rejoining the NHS Pension Scheme (SS10) (PDF: 180KB)Joining or rejoining the NHS Pensions Scheme (SS10GP) (PDF: 171KB)Joining or rejoining the NHS Pension Scheme (SS14) (PDF: 183KB)Application to contribute to the NHS Pension Scheme under a Section 7(2) Direction (SD65) (PDF: 268KB)Joiner excel spreadsheet (Excel: 17.1KB)Joiner excel spreadsheet completion guide (PDF: 465KB)

Re-employment guidance

Read this guidance for more information about re-employed members (the abatement guide is being updated to reflect the change to retire and return regulations for 1995 Section members from 1 April 2023):
Abatement basic overview employer guide (PDF: 318KB) Retire and return employer guide (PDF: 282KB)

Re-employment forms

Use our forms to notify Paymaster if you have:

an NHS pensioner who wants to return to NHS employment
a change to a re-employed pensioner’s circumstances

Re-employment of an NHS pensioner (AW140 (PDF: 77KB)

Change of circumstances for a re-employed NHS pensioner (AW140A) (PDF: 101KB)

Auto enrolment

Employers must automatically enrol eligible staff into a qualifying workplace pension.

The NHS Pension Scheme is the default Scheme for all NHS employees.

Employees need to actively opt out of the Scheme if they don’t want to pay into it.

auto enrolment employer guide (PDF: 223KB)

contractual enrolment vs auto enrolment guide (PDF: 172KB)

Further information

NHS Employers

The NHS Employers’ website has seven key steps to prepare for auto enrolment and FAQs. They have an auto enrolment 'lessons learnt' document that you may find useful.

The Pensions Regulator

Their Planning for auto enrolment webpage is aimed at smaller organisations.

It allows employers to make a plan to help prepare for and meet auto enrolment requirements.

There’s also information about your staging date and detailed guidance about auto enrolment.

FAQs

We have produced our own set of auto enrolment FAQs (PDF: 141KB) for:

Employing Authorities
GP Practices
Direction employers

Got a question?

Visit our knowledge base