Government launches consultation over NHS pensions
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- Published: Monday, 16 September 2019 07:32
- Written by News Editor
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The Government is consulting on a new set of proposals to offer senior clinicians more control over their pensions growth, so they can continue to provide the services that patients need. They say that senior NHS clinicians are concerned that pension tax charges are making them retire early or change their working habits.
The Government says: “The relative generosity of the NHS Pension Scheme means that for some staff, mostly senior doctors, changes since 2010 to the way that wider pensions taxation works has resulted in their pension now growing to a level beyond their tax-free allowance. A tax charge is levied on the value of pension growth that exceeds the tax-free allowance.
“This is causing significant financial concerns to those doctors, with many now looking closely at whether it is in their financial interest to do extra work for the NHS. For some, the potential impact of the tax changes are prompting them to consider retirement or withdrawal from the NHS Pension Scheme.”
They say that the new plans go ‘significantly’ beyond the 50:50 flexibility previously proposed. The new proposals include:
- a ‘flexible accrual’ option where members can choose an accrual level in 10% increments
- the option to ‘fine tune’ pension growth towards the end of the scheme year, when total earnings are clearer
To take part in the consultation visit https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-pension-scheme-increased-flexibility/nhs-pension-scheme-increased-flexibility-consultation-document
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