NHS: Workplace Pensions

(asked on 25th April 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 153887, on NHS: Workplace Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact on NHS staffing and retention of the (a) £40,000 annual pension threshold for both pension contributions and (b) annual increase in total pension value.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 28th April 2022

It is not possible to isolate the impact of a single factor such as the annual allowance on staff choosing to reduce their working hours or take early retirement. The annual increase in pension value for the vast majority of National Health Service staff is expected to be within the £40,000 annual allowance for tax-free pension saving and is unlikely to impact retention.

However, the highest earners within the NHS will find that the generosity of the NHS Pension Scheme means they exceed their annual allowance. Where this occurs, the Scheme Pays facility is a proportionate means to meet the cost of an annual allowance charge from the value of pension benefits.

The Department monitors retirement patterns and hours worked by senior doctors. NHS Digital’s workforce statistics and data from the NHS Business Services Authority show that the average contracted hours per person for consultants and the number of consultants taking voluntary early retirement as a proportion of all consultant retirements has been stable for several years. NHS England and NHS Improvement are delivering a retention programme focused on employers making flexible employment offers to staff, engaging higher earners on pension tax issues and demonstrating the benefit of delaying retirement.

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