Service and Salary Annual Return 2015/2016

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who ensured that your submissions were received in a timely fashion last year and would appreciate your co-operation in achieving the deadlines for 2015/2016. We’d like to stress no extensions will be agreed to the deadlines for this year.

Under HM Revenue & Customs all employers must provide data to their administrators by the deadline date of 6th July each year, therefore it’s essential you provide robust and accurate data to allow your employees time to receive their Pension Savings Statement and carry out self-assessment procedures on time. Not providing the information means you’ll be failing to meet the duties placed on you by which, ultimately, could result in you being fined.

Following legislation changes, we now need to measure pension growth for assessment against the Annual Allowance in line with tax years. Therefore, going forward we will require service and salary information for the period to 5 April, rather than the current 31 March. An example of how to provide the information for the additional 5 days is provided on the website here (This link opens in a new window).

However, we appreciate the difficulties employers may have in providing accurate information for the extra 5 days for 2015/16. Therefore, we have agreed with HM Treasury that, for 2015/16 only, a more practical approach is acceptable. As a result, for this year’s Annual Return, Teachers’ Pensions ask that employers provide:

• Accurate data for extra five days to 5 April where possible; or
• If not possible, employers to provide estimated data for the five days.

If, however, an employer is unable to provide either accurate or estimated data for the additional 5 days in respect of 2015/16, we’ll calculate and issue the Pension Saving Statements based on the data to 31 March. We’ll make it clear on any Pension Saving Statements issued to members the data on which their Pension Saving Statements have been based.

If you’re able to provide either an estimate or actual data for the period 01/04 to 05/04, please provide this as a separate line of service.

Failure to provide data on time, whether this is accurate or estimated data to 5 April or regular service information to 31 March, could result in affected members not receiving their Pension Savings Statement in time to notify HM Revenue & Customs of any tax charges.

Who should be included on the Annual Return?

All teachers employed within your authority/establishment must be included on the Annual Return regardless of whether or not they work full-time, part-time or have opted out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Please ensure all TR6 appointment notifications are uploaded for all new starters in the period 01 April 2015 to 5 April 2016 to ensure they are included on the Annual Return.

How do I send my Annual Return?

You send your Annual Return via the Annual Return template. If you produce the Annual Return from your own system, you need to download the Annual Return blank template and copy and paste your data into it, before uploading the file onto the Employer Portal.

Guidlines and supporting information for the Annual Service Return can be found on our website here. Further details on the changes to the Pension Input Period can be found here.