A survey commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons of England has found more than two-thirds of NHS consultant surgeons reducing their hours because of tax charges arising from the tapered pensions annual allowance. The Department of Health and Social Care is currently consulting on a new set of ‘flexible accrual’ pension proposals to address this problem facing senior NHS doctors.
The YouGov survey of 1890 members of the Royal College found:
68% of consultant surgeons are considering early retirement because of the pensions tax situation;
64% of consultant surgeons have been advised to work fewer hours in the NHS following recent changes in pension taxation rules to avoid ‘crippling and unpredictable’ tax bills; and
69% of consultant surgeons have reduced the amount of time they have spent working in the NHS as a direct result of changes to pension taxation rules.
Many have received financial or legal advice to work less, refrain from taking part in waiting list reduction initiatives (61%), or retire early (31%), because of the pensions tax situation.
Royal College council member, Stella Vig, who is a clinical director at Croydon University Hospital, said: ‘It’s only fair to know how much tax you will have to pay if you work extra shifts. The NHS pensions scheme has created a “tax trap”, where accepting an extra shift can lead to a large and entirely unpredictable tax bill landing in the post many months later’.
The government’s consultation, which closes on 1 November, ‘looks set to last many more months’, rather than the decisive action NHS doctors had hoped to see. ‘We need them to sort this out before winter takes hold’, Miss Vig added.
The survey also revealed that 94% of surgeons in Wales who were asked expressed concern about the tapered annual allowance and pension taxation rules.
A survey commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons of England has found more than two-thirds of NHS consultant surgeons reducing their hours because of tax charges arising from the tapered pensions annual allowance. The Department of Health and Social Care is currently consulting on a new set of ‘flexible accrual’ pension proposals to address this problem facing senior NHS doctors.
The YouGov survey of 1890 members of the Royal College found:
68% of consultant surgeons are considering early retirement because of the pensions tax situation;
64% of consultant surgeons have been advised to work fewer hours in the NHS following recent changes in pension taxation rules to avoid ‘crippling and unpredictable’ tax bills; and
69% of consultant surgeons have reduced the amount of time they have spent working in the NHS as a direct result of changes to pension taxation rules.
Many have received financial or legal advice to work less, refrain from taking part in waiting list reduction initiatives (61%), or retire early (31%), because of the pensions tax situation.
Royal College council member, Stella Vig, who is a clinical director at Croydon University Hospital, said: ‘It’s only fair to know how much tax you will have to pay if you work extra shifts. The NHS pensions scheme has created a “tax trap”, where accepting an extra shift can lead to a large and entirely unpredictable tax bill landing in the post many months later’.
The government’s consultation, which closes on 1 November, ‘looks set to last many more months’, rather than the decisive action NHS doctors had hoped to see. ‘We need them to sort this out before winter takes hold’, Miss Vig added.
The survey also revealed that 94% of surgeons in Wales who were asked expressed concern about the tapered annual allowance and pension taxation rules.
