Business Services Organisation
Please note this newsletter is provided to practice managers, payroll admins and finance managers responsible for administering the HSC Pension Scheme rules to the Officers within GP practices/federations.
It is intended to advise and remind employers of procedures for this process and should not be given to the staff themselves.
This newsletter contains information about:
- Keeping HSC Pension Service Updated
- GP55A 2025/2026 & Annual Benefit Statement 2026(ABS26)
- Pensionable Pay & Contributions
- Contacting Us
- Member Info Tab GP1 Form
- Pension Application
- HSC Pension Liaison Workshops
- Contact Us
This information is available in a downloadable/printable format here.
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Keeping HSC Pension Service Updated
Please ensure HSC Pension Service are being informed of any changes to practice manager contacts, including change of contact email or contact number so we can keep our records up to date.
If a practice manager has left the practice, we will be updating the contact email address to the generic practice manager email address unless we are given updated individual contact information.
Please note that a new person submitting forms will not be considered the new contact until we are specifically told so.
If you are new to practice administration and submit returns on behalf of an employer, please complete the Authorised Signature Form available at GP Practice Forms and return to hscpensions@hscni.net.
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GP55A 2025/2026 & Annual Benefit Statement 2026(ABS26)
You should have submitted your GP55a for the 25/26 year by now. We are currently reviewing the submissions and sending queries if required. Please ensure that if you receive a query that a response is sent as soon as possible.
The information provided on this annual return is used to update member pension records in preparation for the production of Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) 2026, which should be available on Engage from 31st August 2026
Any delays in the submission of the GP55a or response to any queries raised will delay the production of the ABS 2026 for members or result in inaccurate statements.
For any members that have joined during the 25/26 year, and are included in your GP55A, please check that you have already submitted their J2. If you have not, please submit now so that it can be processed in time.
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Pensionable Pay & Contributions
Ensure person (s) responsible for the practice payroll are fully aware of the rules governing pensionable pay and contributions.
Extensive information can be found at: Section 5: Pensionable Pay and Contributions – HSC Pension Service (hscni.net).
They should specifically be aware of “deemed” earnings and the payments required by employers during periods of reduced pay due to maternity or sick leave.
If a member starts receiving reduced pay due to periods of maternity or sickness, the member will pay their new (as of June 2025, backdated to November 2022) reduced contribution rate on their actual reduced earnings. The employer will pay employer contributions at the normal rate (currently 23.2% )on the “deemed” earnings (what the member would have earned, were they not off work). The employer should also be reporting the deemed earnings and deemed part time hours.
Contributions will stop when the member goes onto unpaid sick, and will continue in line with the members intension to return for maternity in line with the rules outlined in the link above.
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Contacting Us
Whilst our phone lines are open daily our preferred method of communication is by email. Email queries can be logged to individual pension records and any work progressed through the team workflow. This ensures that the work is completed by the appropriate team member and responded to within an acceptable time scale.
A simple general query may be answered quicker than a more complex query, so we respectfully request that you allow us time to reply to your queries before contacting us again. Please include the NI Number or Practice Identifier Code in any communication so that we can access the correct record.
Emails can be sent to hscpensions@hscni.net
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Member Info Tab GP1 Form
Please ensure that the GP1 Member Info page is being updated when a member leaves or joins the HSC Pension Scheme.
Any changes to the members rate of pay or contacted hours should be reflected in the actual pensionable earnings and the WTE fields on the Member Info Tab
If a member leaves the scheme for any reason (opt out, leaves employment or retires), do not remove the member from the Member Info Tab, enter the leave date into the relevant column as this information is needed for the year end annual return for the practice.
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Pension Application
All pension applications must be submitted to HSC Pension Service at least 6 months in advance of a member’s retirement date. This means members should start the application process 8-9 months prior to their chosen retirement date to allow processing time for their employer to complete the final parts of the application.
You as their employer, will then forward the form and all supporting documents to HSCpensions@hscni.net to allow it to be processed.
Most members will receive their “RSS” choice document in the weeks before their pension is due– it is important that all members check their emails often as a reply is required from this document and their pension will not be paid until a reply is received
To help us focus on processing the pension applications as quickly as possible, we ask that members do not contact us to enquire regarding the status of their application unless their circumstances are urgent or exceptional.
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HSC Pension Liaison Workshops
The information workshops available to HSC Pension Members, run by the Pension Liaison team, are continuing to be offered
Members that are employed by GP Practices and GP Federations can avail of Pension information sessions, however the employer must organise and pay the fee associated with the sessions.
The fee associated with these sessions is £250.
Any employer, or federation on behalf of a group of employers, who wish to have a pension information session for their members, should contact HSCPensions@hscni.net to arrange.
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Contact Us
By writing to us at:-
HSC Pension Service
Orchard House
40 Foyle Street
Derry/Londonderry
BT48 6ATVia e- mail at: – hscpensions@hscni.net
By Telephone: (10.00am to 12.00pm & 2.00pm to 4.00pm – Monday to Thursday; 10.00am to 12.00pm Friday) on 028 71319111
Find us on X – @hscpensions
Find us on Facebook – HSC Pension Service