Guidance

Pension schemes online user guide

A step by step guide to using the online service for pension scheme administrators and practitioners.

Documents

Details

This guidance contains detailed instructions on how to use the HMRC’s Pension schemes online service.

It is regularly reviewed and updated.

Published 21 October 2014
Last updated 13 December 2023 + show all updates
  1. Section 1.3 has been updated with guidance for administrators and practitioners on how to recover enrolment details for the Pension schemes online service.

  2. The instruction to use form APSS578 to report that your scheme has become or is no longer a master trust has been removed.

  3. Event Reports can be filed, viewed and amended for tax years up to and including the tax year 2022 to 2023. Event reports for event 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19 and 20 now also need to be emailed to pensions.businessdelivery@hmrc.gov.uk.

  4. Information has been added to section 6.9 about submitting a new return for any quarter beginning 1 April 2020. The section about stopping being a scheme administrator has been removed. A bullet point in section 6.6 about filing a return or report for a pension scheme starting with '2' has also been removed.

  5. New sections about 'practitioner de-authorisation by scheme administrator' and 'practitioner de-authorisation by scheme practitioner' have been added. Sections about register as a practitioner and pre-register as a practitioner have been removed.

  6. Section1.4 has been added to explain what to do if your Government Gateway credentials fail because you have not used them for 3 years or more.

  7. Section 4.1 has been added to explain what to do if your Government Gateway credentials fail because you have not used them for 3 years or more.

  8. Section 8.10 has been updated with information about how to amend a submitted AFT return for a pension scheme with a PSTR beginning with ‘2’.

  9. Online service for scheme administrators and practitioners has been updated with information on new functions of the service.

  10. Guidance on applying for a practitioner ID, and amending your details have been updated.

  11. A new section 8.15 has been added giving information about how to view your charge reference.

  12. The guidance on how to apply for a practitioner ID and how to register and activate the online service has been updated.

  13. The online service 'Manage and Register Pension Schemes' has been renamed 'Managing Pension Schemes'.

  14. Amendments made following changes to the pension tax rules for overseas pension schemes, that take effect from 6 April 2017.

  15. Changes made to reflect new IT process and how to amend scheme name.

  16. First published.