Medics Money podcast Ep 291: HALLOWEEN EARLY? Pension and Payroll DISASTERS
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Sep 30, 2025 In a revealing conversation, Andy Powell, a specialist medical accountant with decades of experience, joins NHS consultant anaesthetist Hanlie Duplessy, who shares her shocking encounter with pension growth discrepancies. They discuss how small payroll errors can lead to significant financial consequences, including unexpected tax charges. Andy offers practical advice for verifying pension data and understanding the annual allowance. The duo emphasizes the importance of diligence and seeking professional help to navigate the complex NHS pension landscape.
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How Annual Allowance Is Calculated
- The annual allowance measures pension growth and multiplies it (usually by 16) to calculate taxable growth.
- Small errors in payroll data or whole-time-equivalent hours can massively distort this calculation.
Consultant's Pension Nightmare Resolved
- Hanlie reduced her contract from 10 PAs to 9.5 PAs to avoid tax but received a pension growth statement showing £90,000 growth.
- After getting an NHS P05 extract she discovered April pay had been counted twice and the growth fell to ~£40,000.
Data Transfers Drive Most Errors
- Payroll-to-pension data transfers often introduce errors like duplicated months or wrong digits.
- These data faults can create absurd pension records (e.g., massively inflated annual pay) that trigger tax charges.