Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) physical and (b) mental ability of NHS staff to work beyond the state pension age.

No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service staff are not expected to work beyond state pension age, though some choose to do so. The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. The scheme offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down part of their pension and continue working in a more flexible way.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to going beyond statutory requirements in supporting and promoting flexible working opportunities. NHS England have produced guidance for employers on supporting their older workforce, together with a wide-ranging package of support for NHS staff. This includes tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their well-being, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.