How do I set up MCR?

In Cintra iQ, create a Monthly Contributions Reconciliation (MCR) report by extracting data through MCR. Previously, employers submitted monthly service and salary details to Teachers' Pension (TP). Now, TP allows a transition from Monthly Data Collection (MDC) to MCR between October 2020 and October 2021.

MCR combines MDC, Monthly Contributions Breakdown, and Enrolment into one submission. It helps TP track multiple contracts and opt-outs, affecting final benefits. Employers must report each employment contract or role as separate data rows in MCR for accurate contribution reconciliation.

Correct any errors in MCR data by updating the relevant form.

Before you begin...

Before you begin to generate a Monthly Contributions Reconciliation (MCR ) return for Teacher's Pension (TP) , you must set up the MCR' s Start Date and Payment Method . You can also set up voluntary contributions if necessary.

 

Step One - How Do I Enable the MCR Functionality?

1. Go to Cintra iQ: System Administration> Preferences/Installation Name...> Preferences tab.
2. Set Teachers Pensions - MonthlyContributonsReconciliation to yes.
   Note: Please ensure that yes is set to lowercase, otherwise your entry will be rejected.
3. Update and Save.

 

Step Two - How Do I Set the Start Date for the MCR Return Process?

The MCR's Start Date can be any month and be set retrospectively. Once the first return is filed, you can only move forward and not skip any months.

 

 Note

The first MCR return was generated on 01/04/2019, then I tried to generate another one for 01/03/2019. This was rejected as I can only generate the return for 01/05/2019.

1. Navigate to the Employer definition window.
   Go to Cintra iQ: Payroll> Payroll Setup> Employer Setup>  Employer.
2. Open the desired Employer definition.
3. Navigate to the Education Details tab.
4. Enter the desired date in the Teachers Pension Monthly Contributions Reconciliation Start Date field.
   
5. Click the OK button.

 

Step Three - How Do I Set up a Payment Method for the MCR Return?

1. Navigate to the Employer definition window. 
   Go to Cintra iQ: Payroll> Payroll Setup> Employer Setup>  Employer.
2. Open the desired Employer definition. 
3. Navigate to the Education Details tab.
4. From the Teachers Pension Monthly Contributions Reconciliation Payment Method drop down list, select the desired payment method.
   
5. Click the OK button. The payment method appears on the MCR return.

 

Step Four - How Does MCR Verify Additional Voluntary Contributions?

Within Cintra iQ, if the Teacher's Pension scheme type is either Final Salary or Career Average, you can allow your TP members make additional contributions to the scheme, by setting the Additional Voluntary Contributions flag and selecting the type of contribution to be made.

1. Navigate to the Pension/Benefits Scheme definition window.
   Go to Cintra iQ: Payroll> Payroll Setup> Benefit Schemes
2. Open the desired Pension/Benefit Scheme definition.
3. Navigate to Contributions tab.
4. Open the desired contribution.
5. On the Main Contribution Attributes tab, select the Additional Voluntary Contributions check box. The TP AVC Type drop down becomes active.
   
6. Select the desired option from the TP AVC Type drop down.
7. Click the Apply button when finished.

 

Step Five - How Do I Establish and Verify Role Identifiers for My Employees?

In order to generate a MCR return, you must establish unique Role Identifiers. The Role Identifier (RI) has been introduced to allow Concurrent Service within the same establishment to be reported without the need for employers to "roll up" the service into one row of data.

 

An RI is an employer generated reference number, following specific naming conventions, which identify each employment contract and the individual post(s)  role under that contract.

 

The RI is based on the contractual arrangement you, the employer, have with the Teachers' Pension member.

 

 Note

When generating the RI, you need to understand the member’s contractual arrangement as this ultimately determines the format in which this identifier is produced.

 

The purpose of the Role Identifiers is to identify the rows relating to individual contracts and employee roles for a person that require independent calculations within the MCR template/submission.

 

Within Cintra iQ, the Role Identifier identifies the employee's individual contracts/roles and is held on the employee post history record.

• For more information about role identifiers, see What are Unique Role Identifiers? 
• For more information about the Employee Role Id tab, see the Employee Role Id tab section in Where Do I Collect MCR Data?

 Note

If you have multiple establishments, you need to carry out an extra setup step. For more information, see How Do I Report on Teachers in More Than One Authority?