A new consultation could extend the NHS pension scheme to help the workforce ahead of winter, but NHS pension experts are critical that the move does not go far enough and called on the government to abolish abatement entirely.
Over the weekend (August 28), the government launched the consultation that could have important NHS pension changes extended to make it easier for retired and partially retired NHS staff to return to the workforce and continue supporting the health system over winter.
Under normal circumstances, retired doctors or nurses returning to work could see their NHS pension reduced under a process known as “abatement”.
But in March 2020, the government proposed to temporarily suspend the abatement rules as it urged retired medical professionals to consider re-entering the workforce to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
The measures are currently set to run until October 31, 2022 but the consultation announced by the Department of Health and Social Care will now gather views from the public and stakeholders on whether to extend the measures to March 31, 2023.
In a statement, the department said an extension would help support and boost the workforce ahead of a challenging winter.
It read: “In this way, we are putting in place preparations that will put the health system in the strongest possible position to tackle the pressures and bust the Covid backlogs."
The British Medical Association’s pensions committee chair, Dr Vishal Sharma, said that the BMA has been calling on the government for over a year to make the abatement suspension permanent.
He said: “It is completely negligent of the government to have left this so late and it is inevitable that in the intervening period many psychiatrists will have taken the decision to retire and not return to the NHS.”
However, Sharma also pointed out that a bigger issue for NHS staff was pension taxation.
“In reality, the policy only affects a small number of doctors seeking to return to work post-retirement, namely psychiatrists with ‘mental health officer’ status. It does nothing to prevent the exodus of senior consultants and GPs who are retiring from the NHS due to absurd punitive pensions tax charges,” he said.
“Pension taxation is a far, far greater issue impacting the most experienced NHS professionals, and it is a long-term solution to this that will have the greatest impact on tackling the record waiting list and bolstering the NHS for what looks set to be another horrific winter for the health service,” he added.
The BMA has tabled the introduction of a tax unregistered pension scheme for senior NHS staff, similar to that introduced for judges, as a long-term solution to staffing issues in the NHS.
“To suggest that the small changes proposed in this consultation on their own will have any meaningful effect on waiting times and patient experience, without addressing punitive taxation rules, is completely disingenuous,” Sharma said.
Likewise, Quilter’s NHS pensions expert, Graham Crossley said that the proposal to extend abatement rules does not go far enough and called on the government to abolish the abatement rules.
“Another short-term extension only leads to worry and uncertainty for NHS staff. Government needs to see sense and permanently end the abatement rules which will lead to more staff being retained within the NHS, more income tax receipts for government, and might even encourage other staff to return from retirement to help tackle the backlog,” Crossley said.
In January, a Freedom of Information request by Quilter found that over 7,000 doctors and nurses could be forced out of the NHS once the extension ends.
jane.matthews@ft.com
