NHS: Pensions

(asked on 21st January 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of NHS pension rules on trends in the level of recruitment and retention of NHS staff.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 27th January 2020

The Government is listening carefully to concerns raised by senior doctors and NHS employers about the effect of limits on pensions tax relief. As part of a wider drive to ensure the NHS has the staff it needs to meet demand and transform care, the Government is carrying out an urgent review of the pensions annual allowance taper problem that has caused some doctors to turn down extra shifts for fear of high tax bills. Ministers at HM Treasury and the Department for Health and Social Care have met the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the British Medical Association as part of this review.

The review is also considering the responses to the Department for Health and Social Care’s consultation on pension flexibility. The review will report at Budget.

In addition, in September 2019 guidance was issued by NHS Employers informing employers of the short-term approaches that they could take to mitigate the effect of pension tax on their workforce this tax year. The NHS has also implemented an immediate measure to preserve clinical capacity amid the increased pressure on services during the winter period. This has enabled NHS employers to compensate NHS clinicians for the effect on their pensions of annual allowance charges incurred in 2019/20.

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