The National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995

Meaning of “pensionable earnings" E+W+S

3.— [F1 (1) In the case of a either a type 1 practitioner or a non-GP provider who is not in receipt of any salary, wages, fees or any other regular payment in respect of his employment by virtue of the application of these Regulations to him as if he were such an officer under regulation R1, “pensionable earnings” means—

(a) in the case of a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider, practitioner income less any sum on account of practice expenses (for these purposes, D2(1) contributions payable under paragraph 10(6) or (7) are neither practitioner income nor practice expenses); and

(b) in the case of a type 1 dental practitioner, practitioner income (taking into account any relevant pensionable earnings ceiling).]

(2) Subject to sub–paragraph (3), for the purposes of this paragraph, “practitioner income" means [F2 as regards type 1 medical practitioners]—

[F3 (a) income which accrues to the [F4 type 1 medical] practitioner or the non-GP provider which is derived from—

(i) a GMS contract,

(ii) a PMS agreement,

(iii) an APMS contract,

(iv) payments from, or to, a practitioner who is a GMS practice, a PMS practice or an APMS contractor in respect of the performance of certification services, commissioned services or collaborative services,

(v) his engagement by a Primary Care Trust or a Local Health Board to assist in the provision of primary medical services under [F5 in the case of England, section 83(2)(a) of the 2006 Act or in the case of Wales, section 41(2)(a) of the 2006 (Wales) Act],

(vi) in the case of a [F6 type 1 medical] practitioner, the provision of locum services,

(vii) payments made to a [F7 type 1 medical practitioner] by an OOH provider [F8 or other employing authority providing OOH services] in respect of the performance of primary medical services, commissioned services, collaborative services and certification services,

(viii) payments made to a [F9 type 1 medical practitioner] by an employing authority in respect of general dental services, general [F10 ophthalmic] services or pharmaceutical services provided by the practitioner,

(ix) practice-based work carried out in educating or training, or organising the education or training of, medical students or practitioners.]

(b) any charges collected from patients in respect of the services mentioned in sub–paragraph (a) which the [F11 type 1 medical] practitioner is authorised by or under any enactment to retain other than charges authorised by regulations made under [F12 in the case of England, section 185(1) of the 2006 Act or in the case of Wales, section 133(1) of the 2006 (Wales) Act] (charges for more expensive supplies of dental appliances); and

F13 (c) any sums paid to the practitioner out of a fund determined by reference to the number of beds in a hospital;

[F14 (d) in the case of a practitioner, allowances and any other sums (but excluding payments made to cover expenses) paid in respect of Board and advisory work.]

[F15 (2A) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2B), (2D) and (3), for the purposes of this paragraph, “practitioner income” means, as regards a type 1 dental practitioner, income which accrues to the practitioner which is derived from a GDS contract or a PDS agreement, and—

(a) includes charges collected from patients which are required, by virtue of directions given under [F16 , in the case of England, sections 94, 103 or 109 of the 2006 Act or in the case of Wales, sections 52, 60 or 66 of the 2006 (Wales) Act] (which relate to PDS agreements and payments under GDS contracts), to be set off against payments under the contract or agreement; but

[F17 (b) does not include—

(i) charges collected from patients which are not required, by virtue of such directions, to be so set off,

(ii) income received by a practitioner to whom regulation B2 (restrictions on membership), regulation B3 (restriction on further participation in this Section of the scheme) or regulation B4 (opting-out of this Section of the scheme) applies, or

(iii) income received on or after 7th November 2011 by a practitioner in respect of the performance of services under a GDS contract or a PDS agreement to which the practitioner’s employer is not a party.]

(2B) As regards each GDS contract or PDS agreement from which practitioner income is derived, the maximum amount of practitioner income which may be derived from that contract in any financial year is, subject to sub-paragraph (2C), the value of that contract in that financial year—

(a) less the value of following payments (where payable in that financial year by the Primary Care Trust or Local Health Board that is a party to the contract or agreement)—

(i) monthly seniority payments,

[F18 (ii) adoption leave, maternity leave, parental leave or paternity leave payments;]

(iii) sickness leave payments,

(iv) reimbursement of the salary of a vocational trainee,

(v) reimbursement of the national insurance contributions of a vocational trainee, and

(vi) reimbursement of non-domestic rates; then

(b) multiplied by a percentage to be determined by the Secretary of State,

which produces the amount referred to in this Schedule as the “pensionable earnings ceiling”.

[F19 (2C) Where the income of a type 1 dental practitioner includes payments made under a GDS contract or a PDS agreement consisting of all or any of—

(a) monthly seniority payments;

(b) maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or adoption leave payments; and

(c) sickness leave payments,

those payments are practitioner income for the purposes of this paragraph (that is, they are pensionable earnings notwithstanding that they are not included in the calculation of the pensionable earnings ceiling for a particular GDS contract or PDS agreement).]

(2D) The following payments under a GDS contract or PDS agreement are not to be considered practitioner income for the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) reimbursement of the salary of a vocational trainee;

(b) reimbursement of the national insurance contributions of a vocational trainee; and

(c) reimbursement of non-domestic rates.

(2E) For the avoidance of doubt, income which accrues to a type 1 dental practitioner while he is engaged as a type 2 practitioner is practitioner income of that type 1 dental practitioner, but unaffected by any pensionable earnings ceiling (although the combined earnings of that practitioner will be subject to the upper limit specified in paragraph 8).]

(3) If the practitioner is in concurrent employment as an officer, or with a local authority or university, or as a civil servant, or in any other employment that the Secretary of State may in any particular case allow, “practitioner income" does not include any amounts for which the practitioner is required to account to the employer as a term or condition of that employment.

[F20 (4) In sub-paragraph (2)(a), “locum services” shall have the same meaning as for the purposes of paragraph 6.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 2 para. 3(1) substituted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(a)

F2 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2) inserted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(i)

F3 Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a) substituted (with effect from 1.4.2004) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits) Amendment Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/661), regs. 1(1), 11(4)(b)

F4 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a) inserted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(ii)

F5 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(v) substituted (14.12.2007) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2), 2(27)(b)(i)

F6 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(vi) inserted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(iii)

F7 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(vii) substituted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(iv)

F8 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(vii) inserted (1.10.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2263), regs. 1(2)(3), 22(4)(a) (with reg. 93)

F9 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(viii) substituted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(v)

F10 Word in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(a)(viii) substituted (1.10.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2263), regs. 1(2)(3), 22(4)(b) (with reg. 93)

F11 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(b) inserted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(vi)

F12 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(b) substituted (14.12.2007) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2), 2(27)(b)(ii)

F13 Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(c): By The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(b)(vii) (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider), it is provided that the words “type 1 medical” are inserted after the words “in the case of a”

F14 Sch. 2 para. 3(2)(d) substituted (with effect from 1.4.2004) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits) Amendment Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/661), regs. 1(1), 11(4)(c)

F15 Sch. 2 para. 3(2A)-(2E) inserted (1.4.2006 but with effect from 1.4.2004 in so far as it relates to a type 1 medical practitioner or a non-GP provider) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/600), regs. 1(2)(a)(c), 21(4)(c)

F16 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3(2A)(a) substituted (14.12.2007) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2), 2(27)(b)(iii)

F17 Sch. 2 para. 3(2A)(b) substituted (28.11.2011) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2586), regs. 1(2), 12(3)(a)

F18 Sch. 2 para. 3(2B)(a)(ii) substituted (1.10.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme and Injury Benefits (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2263), regs. 1(2)(3), 22(4)(c) (with reg. 93)

F19 Sch. 2 para. 3(2C) substituted (28.11.2011) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2586), regs. 1(2), 12(3)(b)

F20 Sch. 2 para. 3(4) added (with effect from 1.4.2002) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/631), regs. 1(1)(3), 4(4)(b)