Following the government’s confirmation of plans to take forward its changes to the NHS pension scheme, Alec Collie, head of medical at the Wesleyan Group, the specialist financial services mutual for doctors, has commented.
He said: “These measures will make it easier for more experienced professionals to return to the NHS without impacting their pension benefits as severely. They also go some way to help reduce the risk that rapid rises in inflation result in significant numbers of annual allowance breaches.
“The decision still hasn’t addressed wider, fundamental problems caused by the lifetime allowance and annual allowance limits. The upcoming budget will be an opportunity for the Chancellor to show how serious he is about tackling our NHS pension tax crisis by increasing the limits on both of these.
“If he wants to do more to help medical professionals remain in work, even after they start accessing their pension benefits, it’s critical he also raise the Money Purchase Annual Allowance limit. This wouldn’t just support the NHS – it would help anyone seeking more flexibility in how they work in their later years.”
