Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of freezing the pension lifetime allowance on the retention of senior clinicians in the NHS.

Freezing the lifetime allowance has been a progressive measure to restrict the £54 billion annual cost of tax relief, affecting only those with pensions worth over a million pounds. The generosity of the NHS Pension Scheme and well-remunerated careers means that some senior clinicians exceed their allowances for tax-free pension saving. This may be a factor in personal decisions around working patterns and retirement. The Department is working with NHS England to encourage National Health Service trusts to explore local solutions for senior clinicians affected by pension tax charges, including the option of employer pension contribution recycling