The ARR is how providers and dental performers check and confirm their net pensionable earnings (NPE) or net pensionable earnings equivalent (NPEE) paid from 1 April to 31 March are correct.
Completing the ARR is a contractual obligation and a statutory requirement under Schedule 12, part 1, paragraph 3 of The National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2015. It helps us maintain accurate pension records for your performers.
Follow the guidance for:
- who completes an ARR
- how to complete an ARR
- figures
- ARR calculations
- timescales
- amending an ARR
- performer not showing on ARR
- performer has left the practice
- deductions
Who completes an ARR
All providers and performers who have an active employment tenure on a contract during the specified financial year must complete an ARR.
Opted out of the NHS Pension Scheme or retired within a financial year
You must still confirm your NPE or NPEE for every contract you worked on during that financial year.
Enter your:
- NPE for the period up to the date you opted out or retired
- NPEE for the period you were not an NHS Pension Scheme member
You do not need to enter your NPEE if you’re not a performer on your contract.
Performers who are not paid directly through NHS Dental Services
Salaried performers working under trust-based contracts or performers employed directly by a company who have their pay processed through payroll, do not need to complete an ARR.
If you hold one of these contracts and received an email asking you to complete an ARR declaration, you can ignore this. The request does not apply to you.
Provider has died
The Commissioner must confirm the person responsible for the estate.
How to complete an ARR
An ARR must be completed on Compass every financial year even if you believe your estimated earnings are correct.
If you hold more than one contract, you must complete an ARR separately for each one.
If you’re a provider and a performer, you must complete an ARR under your provider role and submit the declaration from there.
You can view guidance on completing an ARR on our website.
Figures
You must confirm the figures for each performer working on your contract using the ‘ARR Contract Selection’ screen.
Even if performers are not members of the NHS Pension Scheme, their NPEE figure must be confirmed. This is to make sure all performer’s earnings are accounted for and the pensionable ceiling has not been exceeded.
Additional payments
NPE and NPEE figures only include a performer’s earnings apportioned from the contract's total contract value (TCV).
Additional payments to your TCV must not be included such as:
- maternity payments
- paternity payments
- long-term sickness payments
- trainers grant
These payments will still appear on your SD86C as they form part of your pensionable income and are subject to contributions.
PDS Plus contracts
If you've paid any money to a performer as part of their earnings, this must be reflected in the amount you enter for them.
PDS Plus baseline payments, access payments, and performance payments are paid as non-superannuable. 43.9% of the total of all 3 payments can be used for NPE.
Under-performance adjustment
If you're aware of an under-performance adjustment when completing your ARR, the NPE or NPEE figures you enter must take this into account.
Over-performance
Over-performance is paid as a Service Line for the year it relates to.
If this is not entered until after the ARR has closed, you must revise the performer’s earnings by completing a Post ARR to make sure the overperformance is accurately reflected.
Confirming figures
Once you’ve confirmed the figures, an email is sent to the performer asking them to login to their Compass account to either accept or reject the figure.
If a performer rejects the figure, they must confirm why. This will be sent to you for review.
This process will continue until both you and the performer accept the figure.
ARR calculations
The calculation of NPE or NPEE is agreed between each provider and performer. You can view examples on our website by:
- Opening the Annual reconciliation report process (ARR) webpage.
- Select the ARR subheading.
- Open the PDF titled ‘How to calculate provider and performer NPE / NPEE’.
Timescales
The ARR is available from April to 30 June each year.
You can update your NPE or NPEE figures as many times as needed before 23:59pm on 30 June.
Any adjustments will be processed by us. They'll appear on the July schedules at the end of the month.
Your SD86C will be available on Compass from early August.
Amending an ARR
Once the ARR declaration has been submitted, it cannot be amended.
If you need to update your NPE or NPEE later in the year, you can do this by completing a Post ARR.
This functionality usually opens early November for the previous financial year. The availability is communicated in our monthly bulletins and updated on our website.
Performer not showing on ARR
There are several reasons why a performer may not appear on your ARR. Common reasons include:
- no NPE or NPEE has been allocated to them under their employment tenure for the financial year - you can check this by viewing their record on your contract
- their role has not been updated correctly on Compass - when a foundation dentist completes training and becomes a performer, Compass must be updated to reflect this change
To update a performer’s status from ‘foundation dentist’ to ‘dental performer’, follow the guidance for:
England
Tell the performer to check they’re included in the Dental Performers List for England on the Primary Care Support England (PCSE) portal.
If they’re included on the list but still showing as a foundation dentist on Compass, contact us.
Wales
Contact your Local Health Board.
Performer has left the practice
If an ARR payment or deduction shows on your schedule for a performer who has since left the contract, you're responsible for resolving the financial adjustment.
This may involve:
- collecting additional contributions from the performer
- refunding the performer
This must be agreed and settled directly between you and the performer.
Deductions
We cannot provide instalment plans to pay back ARR deductions.
If the deductions will cause your contract financial difficulties, you must contact your Commissioner to discuss this.