1. finance
2. personal finance
3. financial planning
4. retirement and pension

in
TheKnow
Inside find out about...
May
2015
Medical
Pensions
Update
GP Earnings
Disclosure
Page 4 & 5
Page 6
Do You
Need a
Will?
Page 3
Auto-Enrolment
– Does it Matter to You?
Auto-enrolment (“AE”) was introduced to ensure that every employer is legally
responsible to provide a pension scheme for all employees with qualifying status.
To do this every employer must have a qualifying pension scheme and YES the
NHS scheme is a qualifying scheme.
single one of your employees may
there, if you have an already be in the NHS pension
employee who does not qualify scheme, it is still necessary for you
for the NHS scheme you have to be to go through the AE process each
able to offer an alternative. There month.
are various options, some of the At Dodd & Co we can set up your
most common being NEST, The AE system, process your payroll
Peoples Pension and NOW. Unlike and deal with all the on going
other areas of financial advice you administration at the same time.
DO NOT necessarily need to
consult an Independent Financial We have a highly skilled team who
Advisor* for advice on some of deal with all the aspects of AE and
payroll processing. We can do
these schemes.
everything for you from start to
You will have been given a staging finish every month.
date by HMRC, which is the date
you’d
like
any
further
by which you MUST start to make If
contributions for your employees. information then contact Becky
Ashburner
at
our
Penrith
The AE process itself is linked in office on 01768 864466 or
with your payroll system and is beckya@doddaccountants.co.uk
very labour intensive when it
comes to assessing entitlement and *Dodd & Co are not authorised to give
administering, making payroll Independent Financial Advice but we
can help guide you through the Auto
processing an ever increasing
Enrolment process.
burden on time. Even though every
However it does not end
Edited By Faye Armstrong
Partner
healthcare
TheKnow Medical
in
2
The Collection of National
Insurance is Changing (for Some)
From 6 April 2015,
direct debit will be collected
required for those who
Class
2
National in July 2015. You do not are both employed and
to
need
to
do self-employed
Insurance due from the therefore
self employed will be collected
through the self assessment
tax return.
If you are currently paying by
direct debit, you will have
received a letter from the
National
Insurance
Contributions Office to tell
you when the last payment
will be taken from your bank
account.
This is because
under the direct debit scheme,
the contributions are paid in
arrears, so if you are on
monthly payments, the last
anything. If you are paying 6
monthly by cheque, you will
receive a demand for the
outstanding contributions,
which will need to be paid.
After this the contributions
will be included on the tax
return at the appropriate rate
and will increase your tax
payments.
The process for deferring
Class 4 National Insurance
will also be included as part of
the 2015/16 tax return. In the
past deferments have been
prevent them from
paying
too
much
National Insurance in total.
This means people in this
situation no longer need to
take any action to prevent an
overpayment.
We are yet to see how this will
be done and will inform those
affected as soon as we know
any more.
Is a Company Still
Right for You?
IR35 was introduced in April 2000 to target employees who set up
companies to reduce their tax and help their employers reduce their
national insurance and employment law exposure.
For those who have been operating through a company structure for
a long time, it is an easy piece of legislation to forget, but one which
can be very costly if you fall foul of the rules. It is therefore worth
periodically reviewing company contracts to ensure that they are not
"contracts of service". You also need to consider the actual
circumstances as it is easy over time for the nature of the
engagement to change, for example ad-hoc sessions for an
OOH provider becoming the same sessions each week.
You
can
check
your
status
at
h t t p : / / t o o l s . h m r c . g o v. u k / e s i / s c r e e n / E S I / e n GB/summary?user=guest, but if you are in any doubt,
please talk to Simon Kirkbride or Kathryn Brown who
would be happy to help you review your company's
position.
Pensions Update See page 4
in
TheKnow Medical
Do You Need
a Will?
Anyone who has assets and wants to know who will get those
assets after they die needs a will to set out their wishes. They can
also be used to set out funeral wishes so that your family does not
have to worry whether or not they are doing what you want.
If you have sufficient assets
inheritance tax may also be a
concern and you may like to
arrange your affairs so that the
Revenue gets the smallest amount
possible. A will is often part of this
planning.
If you do not have a will your assets
will be distributed according to
intestacy rules and so may not pass
to who you would like or may even
pass to the state.
An old or out of date will could be
more of a problem than no will at all
so even existing wills need to be
reviewed.
Tax law changes
regularly and many people have not
updated their wills since it became
possible for husband and wife to
transfer the unused amount of their
nil rate band to each other. This
could potentially cost £130,000 in
inheritance tax. This is just one
example of changes that have
happened relatively recently.
1.Your will is over 5 years old.
2.It includes a “survivorship clause”
(for example “if she survives me by
at least 28 days”).
3.You have married or divorced
since the will was made.
4.You have had children since the
will was made.
5.You have changed your views
about the gifts in your will or your
funeral arrangements.
6.Your children (or grandchildren)
have turned 18 or will do so soon.
7.Your intended beneficiaries have
entered into new relationships and
you are concerned about future
divorce or bankruptcy.
8.You have had an inheritance or
expect one soon.
9.You have made significant gifts or
been given significant gifts.
If any of the following apply,
a review of your will is advised:
www.doddaccountants.co.uk
healthcare
3
TheKnow Medical
in
4
Pensions Update
2015 Pension
Scheme Videos
Another
Lifetime
Allowance
Reduction
NHS Pension Agency has published the
following three videos in a bid to assist
members understanding of the 2015
Pension Scheme and how it will affect them.
Video 1
NHS Pensions are changing
https://vimeo.com/118259155
The lifetime allowance is
going to be further reduced
from £1.25m to £1m with
effect from 6 April 2016.
Transitional protections are
going to be introduced to
ensure that the changes are
not retrospective but exact
details have not yet been
published. If we are aware
the drop is going to affect
you then we will be in touch,
but if you would like us to
review your position then
please get in touch.
Video 2
Features and benefits of the 2015
Pension Scheme
https://vimeo.com/118591592
Video 3
People with benefits in both the 1995/2008
Scheme and the 2015 Scheme
https://vimeo.com/121450748
Superannuation
Contributions Increase
increase from 1 April. This year as well
partners but will also affect the amount of
employers’ superannuation practices are
paying on behalf of their employees.
as the employees’ contributions increase
(please see tables on next page for further
details), we are also going to see a change to
the employers’ contribution rate, which will
not only affect the amounts payable by
From April 2015 the employers’ contribution
rate will increase to 14.3%, previously 14%,
if you are based in England or Wales.
However if you are based in Scotland it will
increase to 14.9%, previously 13.5%.
The NHS pension contribution
rates are once again going to
2015/16 Contract Update See page 7
TheKnow Medical
in
5
Employees’ Superannuation
Contribution Rates
England and Wales
Pensionable pay
Up to £15,431.99
£15,432.00 to £21,477.99
£21,478.00 to £26,823.99
£26,824.00 to £47,845.99
£47,846.00 to £70,630.99
£70,631.00 to £111,376.99
£111,377.00 and over
Contribution rates
5.0%
5.6%
7.1%
9.3%
12.5%
13.5%
14.5%
Contribution increase
0.0%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
1.2%
1.2%
1.2%
Contribution rates
5.2%
5.8%
7.3%
9.5%
12.7%
13.7%
14.7%
Contribution increase
0.2%
0.5%
0.5%
0.5%
1.4%
1.4%
1.4%
Scotland
Pensionable pay
Up to £15,828.99
£15,829.00 to £21,601.99
£21,602.00 to £27,089.99
£27,090.00 to £49,967.99
£49,968.00 to £71,337.99
£71,338.00 to £111,376.99
£111,377.00 and over
www.doddaccountants.co.uk
healthcare
TheKnow Medical
in
6
GP Earnings
Disclosure
From April 2015 it will be a contractual requirement for practices to
publish the mean net earnings of the partners, salaried GPs and any
locum who has worked in the practice for over six months on their
practice websites.
Net
income
income
will
received
include
from
NHS
England, CCGs and local authorities
for the provision of GP services that
relate to the contract or services
which have been nationally
determined.
The
exact
details
how
the actual net earnings
will be calculated have
recently been published.
Taking into account
the
information
available
it
is
apparent
that
there will be a
long list of
i n c o m e
streams
(and expenses relating to those income
streams) that will be excluded from the
published figures.
For example
enhanced services that have been
commissioned locally. GP trainees
related income and non-NHS income
will not be included.
Exclusion of specific income streams
will certainly be welcomed as good news
by practices but it will also mean that
the actual calculations might be more
complicated than they could have been.
The practice will potentially need
to amend their bookkeeping systems
in order to fulfil new reporting
requirement and / or to assist the
accountants with the calculations. We
had understood the original intention
was for this to be straightforward for
practices to be able to complete
themselves.
As well as the mean figure, practices will
be required to publish the number of full
and part time GPs in the practice. The
information will need to be published on
practice websites before the end of the
financial year following the financial
year to which it relates. Practices will
also need to make the information
available in hard copy form on request.
Meet the team See page 8
TheKnow Medical
in
7
2015/16
Contract
Update
Key
changes to
the GMS
contract for
2015/16
are:
England
Scotland
•
All patients will have a named, accountable GP.
•
Practices will publish the average earnings of the
GPs in their practice, in relation to the GP contract,
on their practice website.
•
•
Patients will have online access to detailed
information in their patient record and there will be
a larger proportion of appointments available to
book online.
•
QOF – no changes,
maximum of 659 points.
•
Seniority – no changes,
to be reviewed for 17/18.
•
Golden
Hellos
–
Automatic entitlement
ceased from 01/01/15.
Will continue to be
available for practices in
remote, rural or deprived
areas.
•
An annual appraisal for
locums
has
been
introduced at the rate of
£350.
QOF - Planned changes to thresholds are to be
deferred for a year.
The value of a QOF point is to be adjusted to take
account of relative changes in practice list size.
Minor changes to the allocation of points. 36 points
will move to new / increased QOF targets associated
with stroke risk, dementia, chronic kidney disease
and obesity.
•
The unplanned admissions enhanced service will
continue with some minor changes.
•
The patient participation and alcohol enhanced
services will cease. Funding will transfer to core
funding, with it therefore being a contractual
requirement for practices to provide these services.
•
£2.21 extra per weighted patient (3% increase in
total) includes 1.16% uplift plus funding
reinvested from MPIG reduction, seniority, PPG
and alcohol DESs.
•
GMS MPIG to be reduced by a further 1/7th
(2/7ths in total to 31.03.16). Funding reinvested
in GMS core funding.
www.doddaccountants.co.uk
Wales
•
QOF – 102 points removed
and transferred to core
GMS. Some small changes
to clinical indicators.
healthcare
TheKnow Medical
in
8
Meet the Team
The best thing about working in the
Dodds’ healthcare team is………..? You
Ann-Marie manages a portfolio of medical
never know what the day will bring.
Name: Ann-Marie Tulloch
practices from England, Wales and Scotland.
She assists practice managers and GPs to
prepare year end financial statements and
advises on all aspects of finance including
practice bookkeeping, VAT, preparation of
management accounts, budgets, cash flows
and software options. Ann-Marie also
provides advice to clients on changes in their
partnerships, premises relocations and
partnership mergers. She also organises and
presents, courses and seminars to GPs,
practice managers and other accountants
when changes arise in the GP contract or
pensions.
What did you do at the weekend? Taxi
service for children’s activities, a short
run and gardening – the grass never
stops growing. Perhaps we need some
sheep.
We managed to grab five minutes from AnnMarie and asked her a couple of questions:
Place of Birth: On the farm.
Any plans for holidays this year? Centre
parcs – has to be child friendly.
Beer or wine? Wine always.
What was the last film you saw at the
cinema? Shaun the sheep – not my
choice!
Do you have any sayings? Write it down.
Make a list.
This newsletter is designed as an informative guide for clients
and their advisors. The articles cannot deal with any particular
point in depth and they should not be used as a substitute for
full professional advice. Accordingly, no responsibility for any
loss or damage can be accepted by Dodd & Co Limited as a
result of any person or organisation acting upon material
contained in this newsletter.
Data Protection Policy
In the future Dodd & Co Limited or Dodd Murray Limited may
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information on products / services, please write to: Data
Controller, Dodd & Co Limited, Clint Mill, Cornmarket, Penrith,
Cumbria, CA11 7HW.
healthcare
No 8 Willow Mill
Fell View
Caton
LANCASTER
LA2 9RA
FIFTEEN Rosehill
Montgomery Way
Rosehill Estate
CARLISLE CA1 2RW
Clint Mill
Cornmarket
PENRITH
CA11 7HW
T: 01228 530913
F: 01228 515485
T: 01768 864466
F: 01768 865653
T: 01524 849588
e: carlisle@doddaccountants.co.uk
e: penrith@doddaccountants.co.uk
e: lancaster@doddaccountants.co.uk