If you work as a freelance GP locum, your NHS pension does not happen automatically. There is no payroll quietly deducting contributions for you. You have to claim each piece of work yourself, on paper or online, using two forms: GP Locum Form A and GP Locum Form B.
Get the forms right and your locum sessions count towards your NHS pension for life. Miss the deadline and that work is gone, with no way back. The rules are strict and the timing is tight.
This guide explains what each form does, how they fit together, the one deadline you cannot miss, and how the contributions are worked out. It is written for freelance GP locums in England (where the forms go to Primary Care Support England). If you want this handled for you, that is part of what we do for locum doctors.
What are GP Locum Forms A and B?
Forms A and B are the two NHS Pension Scheme forms a freelance GP locum uses to pension their locum income. They work as a pair. Form A records a single piece of locum work and the contributions due on it. Form B is the monthly summary that pulls your Form A figures together and tells you exactly what to pay. You complete both and send them to Primary Care Support England (PCSE), with payment, by strict deadlines.
What does Form A do?
Form A is the per-engagement form. You complete one Form A for each practice you do locum work for, covering the work you are invoicing that practice.
You fill in Part 1 with the dates worked, the practice details and your locum fee. The practice completes Part 2 to certify the work and confirm you are not a salaried or partner GP there (because that work would be pensioned a different way). The practice pays your fee plus the employer's pension contribution, then returns the completed Form A to you.
Each Form A carries a unique identifying reference (UIR). That reference has to match across Form A, your Form B and the payment you send, so PCSE can tie everything to your pension record. If the references do not match, contributions can sit unallocated.
So Form A answers the question "what work did I do, for whom, and what contribution is due on it?" You can submit it on PCSE Online, which keeps a running record for you.
What does Form B do?
Form B is the monthly return. At the end of each calendar month in which you received locum payments, you complete one Form B that summarises all the work from that month and calculates the total contributions due.
Form B is where the arithmetic lives. It takes your gross locum fees, applies the 90% pensionable rule (explained below), works out the employer contribution and applies your employee contribution tier. The result is the single amount you pay over for the month.
You send Form B together with the relevant Form As and your payment to PCSE. The matching UIR links the monthly summary back to each individual engagement.
In short, Form A is the building block and Form B is the monthly total. One Form B can cover several Form As if you worked for several practices that month.
What is the 10-week deadline?
This is the rule that catches locums out, so it is worth stating plainly. You cannot pension a period of freelance GP locum work that ended more than 10 weeks ago.
NHS Pension Scheme regulations set this limit, and it is applied strictly. Forms received after the 10-week window are rejected, and that work simply cannot be pensioned. There is no discretion, even where there has been illness or a practice was slow to pay you.
There is a second, separate timing rule. Once you are ready to pay, you must pay both the employee and employer contributions to PCSE no later than the seventh day of the month following the month in which you received the pay you are pensioning.
The practical takeaway is to treat Forms A and B as a monthly routine, not a year-end clean-up. Chase practices for the completed Part 2 of each Form A early, because the 10-week clock runs from when the work was done, not from when you got round to the paperwork.
How are locum pension contributions worked out?
Three things drive the figure: the 90% pensionable rule, the employer contribution rate, and your employee contribution tier.
First, only 90% of your gross locum fee is pensionable. The other 10% is treated as representing your expenses and is not pensionable. So a £500 fee gives £450 of pensionable pay.
Second, the employer contribution. In England, practices pay an employer contribution of 14.38% of your pensionable pay (the standard 14.3% rate plus a 0.08% administration levy). You request this from the practice on top of your fee. The full employer cost of the scheme is higher, but the balance above 14.38% is met centrally rather than by the practice, so 14.38% is the figure that flows through your Form B.
Third, your employee contribution. This is tiered: the rate you pay depends on your total pensionable earnings for the year. For 2025/26 the England member contribution tiers are as follows.
| Annual pensionable pay (2025/26) | Employee contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260 to £27,797 | 6.5% |
| £27,798 to £33,868 | 8.3% |
| £33,869 to £50,845 | 9.8% |
| £50,846 to £65,190 | 10.7% |
| £65,191 and above | 12.5% |
Source: NHS Pension Scheme member contribution tiers from 1 April 2025 (the thresholds were uplifted for 2025/26; the rates themselves were unchanged). Confirm the live figures before you calculate, as the bands are reviewed each scheme year.
As a freelance locum your membership sits in the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme, which is career average (CARE). Each scheme year you build up a pension worth 1/54th of that year's pensionable earnings, revalued each year. That is why pensioning every eligible session matters: each Form B you submit adds directly to the pension you will draw.
Which locum work cannot be pensioned?
Not all locum income is eligible, and trying to pension the wrong income causes problems later. The following generally cannot go through Forms A and B:
- Work done through a locum agency or deputising service. Agency engagements are not pensionable in the NHS scheme.
- Work invoiced through your own limited company. If you bill a practice via a limited company, that income cannot be pensioned as freelance locum work.
- Private GP work and most out-of-hours work done outside the qualifying arrangements.
This is one reason the limited-company question is not as simple for locum GPs as it is for other contractors. Trading through a company can suit some doctors for other reasons, but it takes that income outside the NHS pension. If you also run a company alongside your locum work, the corporation tax and self-assessment sides need joining up with the pension position so you do not accidentally lose pensionable years.
Illustrative example: a month of locum sessions
Illustrative example. Suppose Dr Anya works as a freelance GP locum across two practices during a month and is in the 2015 scheme for 2025/26.
| Practice | Gross locum fee | Pensionable pay (90%) | Employer 14.38% requested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice A | £1,200 | £1,080 | £155.30 |
| Practice B | £800 | £720 | £103.54 |
| Total | £2,000 | £1,800 | £258.84 |
Anya completes a Form A for each practice and requests the 14.38% employer contribution on top of her fee, so the practices pay her the fee plus £155.30 and £103.54 respectively.
At month end she completes one Form B covering both. Her pensionable pay for the month is £1,800 (£1,080 + £720). Her annualised pensionable earnings put her in the 9.8% employee tier for 2025/26, so her employee contribution is £1,800 x 9.8% = £176.40.
She pays PCSE the employee contribution of £176.40 plus the employer contributions she collected of £258.84, a total of £435.24, by the seventh of the following month. The pensionable pay of £1,800 then feeds into her 1/54th CARE accrual for the year.
These figures are illustrative. Your own tier depends on your total annual pensionable earnings, and you should confirm the current rates before you calculate.
Keeping this straight every month, alongside your tax return, is fiddly, and it is exactly the sort of thing our team handles for locum doctors. If your pension paperwork and your accounts are not joined up, it is easy to miss the 10-week window or land in the wrong contribution tier.
Want your locum pension forms and your tax return handled together and on time? Book a free call with a Zmartly accountant and we will review where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Form A and Form B for locum GPs?
Form A records a single piece of locum work for one practice, including the fee and the employer contribution due, certified by the practice. Form B is the monthly summary that combines your Form As, applies the 90% pensionable rule and your contribution tier, and calculates the total you pay to PCSE. You usually complete several Form As and one Form B each month.
What happens if I miss the 10-week deadline for a locum form?
The work cannot be pensioned. NHS Pension Scheme regulations do not let you pension freelance locum work that ended more than 10 weeks ago, and forms submitted after the window are rejected with no exceptions, so that session is permanently lost from your pension. Submitting Forms A and B monthly is the safest way to stay inside the limit.
How much of my locum fee is pensionable?
Only 90% of your gross locum fee is pensionable. The remaining 10% is treated as expenses and is not pensionable. So contributions are worked out on 90% of what each practice pays you for the locum work.
What employer pension contribution do I ask the practice for?
In England you request 14.38% of your pensionable pay (90% of the fee) from the practice on top of your fee. That is the standard 14.3% employer rate plus a 0.08% administration levy. You collect it and pass it to PCSE with your own employee contribution.
Can I pension locum work done through my limited company or an agency?
No. Freelance GP locum income invoiced through your own limited company cannot be pensioned, and work done through a locum agency or deputising service is also not pensionable in the NHS scheme. Only directly invoiced freelance locum work qualifies for Forms A and B.
