There are 227,263 data errors lodged at NHS Pensions, leaving many practice managers with the daunting task of resolving these discrepancies in time for the special pension scheme choice exercise planned from July 2009.
Compupaye is committed to offer help and advice, working closely with NHS Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs. We inform our clients of the new statutory regulations that govern the operation of payroll and NHS pension administration.
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NHS Pensions requires assurance from all practices that the pension paid reconciles with the amounts due into the scheme. Each year, we give our clients fully reconciled pension reports and individual employee pension statements. Our GP1 annual summary reports have been in use since 1998 by our clients to meet their obligations with the NHS Contributions Assurance Statement exercise.
We provide an internal audit, particularly on new client’s data, which often reveal discrepancies such as salaried GPs or previous leavers that still show up on the NHS pension scheme database.
Checks must be made on all new starters if they have any other NHS employment, as pensionable pay must not exceed whole-time equivalent, otherwise queries can arise if there is conflicting information between scheme members and NHS Pensions.
We have a duty to make our clients aware of the new compliance powers, one of which is the new NHS Pension Tiers for 2009/10. The tables are now split into two sections, depending on employees’ circumstances, in addition to a special tier table for practitioner and non-GP providers.
Another recent change is the introduction of the latest penalty regime for incorrect pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and National Insurance contributions (NICs) returns effective from April 2009. Many surgeries are finding these new compliance rules overwhelming.
Never before in modern times haved GPs and practice managers faced such a challenging economic climate, which is forcing many surgeries to stay within their budgets. Consequently, almost everyone in the medical profession is looking for ways to expand their practices with marginal costs.
Many of our larger GP clients are bidding for new Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contracts to increase profitability, with the knowledge that a robust payroll infrastructure is already in place to allow for growth. As management time is better spent on strategic developments, it can actually end up costing more to continue payroll and pension tasks inhouse.
Even if practice managers are using specialist software, it is important for them to ensure the parameters and new tax codes are correct, particularly with the expected changes that the chancellor’s budget will announce.
At Compupaye, our payroll service is a hosted solution using ISO 9000 secure systems that meet HMRC payroll standards. We already support tiered NHS pension rates with its complex rules. We take care of crucial payroll management, including data security, parameter upgrades, legislative changes and software upgrades. As a BACS-approved Bureau, we can pay your staff wages and tax bills direct using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security technologies.
If you are a practice manager or GP and have concerns about your payroll and NHS pension, Compupaye will always give you the correct guidance on the changes that may affect you to ensure your payroll efficiencies are in compliance with the recent changes.
At Compupaye, you can rest assured we are here to help you through these changes. For a further guide to our NHS payroll services and a free copy of the chancellor’s Budget, visit www.nhspayroll.com or telephone us on 020 8880 4276.
