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How to Read Your NHS Pension Total Reward Statement (TRS): A Locum GP Guide

A step-by-step guide to finding and interpreting your NHSBSA Total Reward Statement — including accrued pension, Pension Input Amount, and projected retirement income for locum GPs.

Every member of the NHS Pension Scheme receives an annual Total Reward Statement (TRS) from NHSBSA. For locum GPs, it contains some of the most financially important numbers you will see all year — including your Pension Input Amount (PIA), which determines whether you have an Annual Allowance tax charge. Yet many locums either don’t know it exists or don’t know how to interpret it.

This guide walks you through how to find your TRS, what each section means, and what to do with the information.

What is the Total Reward Statement?

The TRS is an annual statement published by NHSBSA (NHS Business Services Authority) that summarises:

  • Your accrued pension entitlement to date
  • Your projected pension at Normal Pension Age
  • Your Pension Input Amount (PIA) for the previous tax year
  • The employer contributions made on your behalf
  • Any death-in-service benefits

NHSBSA publishes TRS each summer, covering the previous tax year (ending 5 April). So the TRS published in summer 2025 covers the 2024/25 tax year.

How to Access Your TRS

  1. Go to my.nhsbsa.nhs.uk — the NHSBSA member portal
  2. Register or log in using your NHS Pension membership number (on any previous pension correspondence) or NHS email address
  3. Navigate to “My Pension” then “Total Reward Statement”
  4. Select the relevant tax year

If you have never logged in before, you will need your NHS Pension reference number. Contact NHSBSA on 0300 330 1346 if you cannot find it.

Tip for locums: If you have worked for multiple practices or across multiple years, your TRS consolidates all your NHS locum (Locum A/B form) contributions in one place. It is the definitive record of what NHSBSA has on file — if a Locum A form was never submitted or incorrectly processed, this is where you will spot the gap.

Reading the Key Sections

1. Accrued Pension

This shows the annual pension you have already built up, expressed as a yearly amount payable from your Normal Pension Age. For the 2015 CARE scheme:

  • Each year of service accrues 1/54th of your pensionable pay for that year, revalued by CPI+1.5% each year while you are active
  • The TRS shows the total accumulated figure

If you have service in both the 1995/2008 legacy schemes and the 2015 scheme, these will usually appear as separate figures. The McCloud remedy may also show a separate calculation for the 2015–2022 period.

2. Projected Pension at Normal Pension Age

This is an estimate of what your total NHS pension will be at Normal Pension Age if you continue contributing at your current rate. For locums with variable income, treat this as a rough guide rather than a precise forecast.

The projection uses:

  • Your current accrued pension
  • An assumed future pensionable pay (based on recent history)
  • The applicable revaluation rate

3. Pension Input Amount (PIA) — the critical figure

This is the number HMRC uses to assess your Annual Allowance. It is not what you paid in contributions — it is the growth in the value of your pension rights that year.

For the 2015 CARE scheme:

PIA = (closing pension value × 16) − (opening pension value × 16 × CPI adjustment)

Where:

  • Closing pension value = your accrued pension at 5 April
  • Opening pension value = your accrued pension at 6 April of the prior year
  • CPI adjustment = September CPI from prior year

Example: If your annual pension grew from £10,000 to £12,800 and CPI was 3%:

  • Opening value: £10,000 × 16 × 1.03 = £164,800
  • Closing value: £12,800 × 16 = £204,800
  • PIA = £204,800 − £164,800 = £40,000

This £40,000 is tested against your Annual Allowance (£60,000 for 2025/26), not the £5,000–£12,000 in contributions you actually paid.

If your total PIA across all pension schemes exceeds your available Annual Allowance (including any carry-forward), you have a charge.

4. Employer Contributions

The TRS shows the employer contributions paid on your behalf — typically 14.38% of your pensionable pay. For locums, this comes from the GP practices via the SD55 (Locum A) forms they submit.

Check this matches your records. If practices submitted your SD55 forms late or incorrectly, the employer contribution figure will be lower than expected. Discrepancies should be raised with NHSBSA and the relevant practice promptly.

5. Death-in-Service Benefits

The NHS Pension provides valuable death benefits:

  • Lump sum on death: 2× annual pensionable pay (both 1995 section and 2015 scheme) if you die in service. The 1995 section also provides a return of member contributions on top of this lump sum.
  • Survivors’ pension: A proportion of your pension is payable to a qualifying partner and/or dependants

The TRS shows these figures based on your current accrued entitlement.

What to Do With the Information

Check your PIA against your Annual Allowance

If your PIA is approaching £60,000:

  1. Check whether you have carry-forward allowance from previous years (available in the NHSBSA portal)
  2. Consider whether Scheme Pays might be needed if a charge arises
  3. Do not opt out of the pension without proper advice — see the NHS Pension opt-in/out framework

Verify your McCloud position

If you have pre-2015 NHS Pension service, your TRS may show a separate calculation for the remedy period (April 2015 to March 2022). Review this carefully and use the McCloud eligibility checker.

Spot missing Locum A contributions

Cross-reference the pensionable pay shown on your TRS against your records of SD55 forms submitted. If a practice never submitted your form, or submitted it with errors, those contributions may not appear. You have a limited window to raise corrections.

Keep it for tax records

The PIA figure on your TRS is what a tax adviser will use to prepare your Annual Allowance calculations for your Self Assessment return. Save or print the TRS each year as part of your annual tax file.

Common Mistakes Locum GPs Make With TRS

Confusing contributions with PIA. Your employee contributions (e.g. £8,000 at 9.8% of £80,000 pensionable pay) are not the PIA. The PIA will be significantly higher. See the worked example above.

Missing the TRS entirely. NHSBSA does not currently send email alerts when the TRS is published. Check the portal each autumn.

Not checking for missing SD55 contributions. If a practice missed the SD55 submission deadline, those sessions may not appear in your pension record. You may need to prompt the practice to submit a late form or raise a dispute with NHSBSA.

Not using carry-forward. If your PIA will exceed the AA this year, check your carry-forward position before assuming you owe tax. Three years of unused allowance can substantially increase your available limit.

This guide is for information only and does not constitute financial or pension advice. Tax and pension rules can change — always verify figures with NHSBSA directly and consult a qualified financial adviser for personal circumstances.