Section 1: Total contributory salary
This is the sum of all pensionable pay paid in the year to employees who are members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS). Pensionable pay will include any overtime and backdated pay awards, but excludes any member who:
- has opted out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme
- is aged 75 or over before the start of the financial year
- is in part-time, non-pensionable employment
- is in receipt of non-pensionable allowances, ie. honorarium payment.
Section 2: Summary of contributions
These are the total contributory salary before any adjustment such as any additional contributions, payments, refunds or arrears which should be noted separately in the allocated cells. You should check that this section casts correctly to the totals column.
Section 2d: the contributions paid figure
This is provided by the TPS via the employer portal in the last week of April and is the total amount of contributions paid to the TPS in the year. You should not make any changes to this figure without discussing it first with the TPS.
Sections 2e: Overall balance
This is ultimately the difference between the total contributions due less any refunds and the total amount paid over to the TPS in the year. If your auditor agrees that there has been an underpayment, this should be paid immediately using the underpayment paying in slip on the employer portal to avoid any interest being added.
Section 3: Analysis of contributions by band
Here, the total contributory salary and related member and employer contributions are summarised by the banding in which they fall. It is very important that the totals of each column agree to the corresponding figures in section 2.
Logic checks should be carried out on the bandings of section 3 to ensure the contributory salary multiplied by the banding % equals the contributions deducted. Similarly, the employer contribution figures can be checked by multiplying the contributory salary by 23.68% and ensuring that this agrees to the contributions made.
If you find any differences in the banding checks, these should be investigated as they could be indicative that an error has been made when applying the rates to individuals’ pay or in the determination of pensionable pay.
Further guidance is available on the Teachers’ Pension service website, or alternatively we are here to help.
The next step
If you have any enquiries regarding the above, please contact Jenna Murphy on j.murphy@uhy-manchester.com, or your local UHY academy sector expert who will be happy to assist you with any queries.
