Five forms, three deadlines, one very common confusion

28 February 2026 — Estimate for 2026/27
Every GMS, PMS and APMS contractor. Due before the year it estimates.
28 February 2028 — Annual Certificate for 2026/27
Every Type 1 GP provider and non-GP provider, one per contract. Eleven months after the scheme year end — which is two years after the estimate for the same year.
28 February 2028 — Type 2 form for 2026/27
Every salaried, long-term fee-based and career out-of-hours GP. The one nobody chases.

Locums electing to pension their work complete forms A and B. Any Type 1 or Type 2 doing self-employed ad hoc work completes a GP Solo form monthly.

Worth knowingThe Type 2 form is the most commonly missed document in general practice, because nothing happens when it is not done. The consequence is an incomplete pension record, and it surfaces when the record is finalised — often near retirement, when reconstructing years of pensionable pay is hard and sometimes impossible.

The part that is usually skipped

Certifying pensionable pay is one job. Checking that the contributions actually deducted match what was certified is another, and it is the one that gets left. Where they diverge, the difference affects both the pension record and the partner's tax position, so we reconcile them rather than assuming they agree.

Common questions

Which superannuation forms does our practice actually owe?

An Estimate of Pensionable Profits or Pay for every GMS, PMS and APMS contractor. An Annual Certificate of Pensionable Profits for every Type 1 GP provider and non-GP provider, one per contract. A Type 2 Medical Practitioner Self-Assessment for every salaried, long-term fee-based and career out-of-hours GP. Locums electing to pension their work complete forms A and B. And any Type 1 or Type 2 doing self-employed ad hoc work completes a GP Solo form monthly rather than annually. Which of those apply to you depends on your role rather than your job title, and a GP can legitimately hold two positions at once — a locum who also does out-of-hours work is a Type 2 in that role and must not record it on the locum forms.

When are they due?

No later than eleven months after the scheme year end, which lands on 28 February — but the year catches people out. The Estimate for 2026/27 was due 28 February 2026, before the year started. The Annual Certificate for the same 2026/27 year is not due until 28 February 2028. They are two years apart and are frequently confused with each other, which is how a practice ends up thinking it has filed when it has only estimated. Put both in the diary the day the year opens, and treat the estimate as what it is: a forecast that will be corrected, not a submission that closes the year.

What happens if the Type 2 form is never done?

Nothing visible, for years — which is exactly the problem. The consequence is an incomplete pension record, and it surfaces when the record is finalised, often at or near retirement, when reconstructing several years of pensionable pay is difficult and sometimes impossible. No one chases it. If you are salaried and have never completed one, it is worth resolving now rather than discovering the gap at the worst possible moment. NHSBSA can usually help reconstruct a record where the underlying payroll evidence still exists, which is precisely the thing that becomes harder with every year that passes.

Do you reconcile what was deducted against what was certified?

Yes, and it is the part most often skipped. Certifying pensionable pay is one job; checking that the contributions actually taken match it is another. Where they diverge — and they do — the difference has to be resolved deliberately, because it affects both the pension record and the partner's tax position. A certificate filed without that check is only half the work. We do it as a matter of course rather than as an extra, because a certificate that has never been checked against the deductions is a number nobody has actually verified.