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1126032

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Defence on the annual tapered allowance and its effect on the recruitment and retention of doctors in the NHS and armed forces.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	253507
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text The Government is committed to public service pensions which are fair to workers and fair to other taxpayers. The tapered annual allowance is focussed on the highest earning pension savers, to ensure that the benefit they receive is not disproportionate. The Government is aware of specific concerns raised by some high-earners impacted by annual allowance tax charges. All public sector pay and pensions policies are kept under constant review and discussed with relevant departments. answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 16/05/2019 13:19:35 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1418658

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2022
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the end of the temporary suspension in March 2022 of pension penalty protections introduced in respect of the NHS pension scheme during the covid-19 outbreak on senior doctors’ decisions on (a) early retirement and (b) reductions in their working hours.
	tabling member constituency	Newton Abbot
	tabling member printed	Anne Marie Morris
	uin	115921
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>Three rules were suspended by Section 45 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Staff in the 1995 section no longer had to restrict hours worked to no more than 16 hours a week for four weeks after taking their pension. ‘Special Class’ members and Mental Health Officer (MHOs) of the 1995 Section (staff with the reserved right to retire at 55 years old without an actuarial reduction) no longer would have their pension abated so that pension plus current earnings could not exceed earnings before retirement. Staff in the 2008 and 2015 schemes no longer had to reduce their pensionable earnings by 10% on drawing down some of their pension.</p><p>These rule changes affected only retired staff and therefore did not impact the early retirement of doctors. The vast majority of doctors, other than a small number of MHOs in post before 6 March 1995, are not ‘Special Class’ members and are not benefiting from Section 45 and will be unaffected when it is withdrawn. Doctors who have retired and returned to the National Health Service have benefited from the suspension of the 16 hour rule since March 2020 and have been able to immediately return to full-time work.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 04/02/2022 13:22:58 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4249 label Biography information for Anne Marie Morris

1602005

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs and benefits of introducing a tax unregistered scheme in relation to NHS doctors' pensions.
	tabling member constituency	Ilford North
	tabling member printed	Wes Streeting
	uin	160334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2023 answer text <p>An unregistered pension scheme would not benefit the vast majority of National Health Service staff, as they would lose the benefit of tax-relief on their contributions and a tax-free lump sum on retirement. A separate unregistered scheme for the very highest earners in the NHS would take them outside the pension tax system. It would allow members to not pay annual allowance or lifetime allowance tax charges, excluding them from the allowances for tax-free pension saving that apply to the rest of society. This would remove a barrier to the amount of additional work they can perform particularly for £200,000 plus earners affected by the annual allowance taper.</p><p>In order to make an unregistered arrangement more favourable to members than a registered scheme, a substantial subsidy would need to be provided to the reward packages of those in a scheme in the form of increased employer contributions. A subsidy of around 5% of pay would be needed to match the benefit of tax-relief on contributions, and a further subsidy of around 3% of pay would be required to provide the equivalent of a tax-free lump sum on retirement. These subsidies would require significant investment from the taxpayer in order for an unregistered scheme to work. Estimates from the Department suggest this would range from £500 million to £700 million per year, depending on take up and scheme design.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 160335 question first answered 17/03/2023 13:06:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 62091 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4504 label Biography information for Wes Streeting

1602009

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on retention of NHS doctors of introducing a tax unregistered scheme in relation to NHS doctors' pensions..
	tabling member constituency	Ilford North
	tabling member printed	Wes Streeting
	uin	160335
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2023 answer text <p>An unregistered pension scheme would not benefit the vast majority of National Health Service staff, as they would lose the benefit of tax-relief on their contributions and a tax-free lump sum on retirement. A separate unregistered scheme for the very highest earners in the NHS would take them outside the pension tax system. It would allow members to not pay annual allowance or lifetime allowance tax charges, excluding them from the allowances for tax-free pension saving that apply to the rest of society. This would remove a barrier to the amount of additional work they can perform particularly for £200,000 plus earners affected by the annual allowance taper.</p><p>In order to make an unregistered arrangement more favourable to members than a registered scheme, a substantial subsidy would need to be provided to the reward packages of those in a scheme in the form of increased employer contributions. A subsidy of around 5% of pay would be needed to match the benefit of tax-relief on contributions, and a further subsidy of around 3% of pay would be required to provide the equivalent of a tax-free lump sum on retirement. These subsidies would require significant investment from the taxpayer in order for an unregistered scheme to work. Estimates from the Department suggest this would range from £500 million to £700 million per year, depending on take up and scheme design.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 160334 question first answered 17/03/2023 13:06:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 62092 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4504 label Biography information for Wes Streeting

1366053

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2021
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of pension rules on the (1) reduction in clinical hours, and (2) early retirement, of senior doctors.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL3677
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>As an individual may choose to reduce their working hours or take early retirement for a range of reasons, it is not possible to isolate the impact of any single factor such as pension rules. However, we continue to monitor the retirement patterns and hours worked by senior doctors. The available evidence does not suggest any substantial change in consultant working hours. NHS Digital workforce statistics show the participation rate or average contracted hours per person, has been stable for several years.</p><p> </p><p>Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, which administer the NHS Pension Scheme, shows that number of consultants taking voluntary early retirement as a proportion of all consultant retirements has not changed significantly over the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>A small but significant portion of senior doctors will amass pensions in excess of their allowances for tax-free pension saving. Last year, the Government addressed this issue by increasing thresholds by £90,000 to remove all staff with earnings below £200,000 from the scope of the taper. An estimated 96% of general practitioners and 98% of consultants are out of scope of the taper based on their National Health Service earnings.</p> answering member printed Lord Kamall question first answered 17/11/2021 16:39:50 answering member 4909 label Biography information for Lord Kamall
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

843830

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing or reducing the NHS pension annual allowance or increasing its limits to improve the retention of experienced senior hospital doctors and GPs.
	tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
	tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
	uin	128268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2018 answer text <p>Experienced senior hospital doctors and general practitioners who decide to become members of the NHS Pension Scheme (NHSPS) benefit from one of the best available defined benefit occupational pension schemes giving them a very good retirement income. Work done by the Government Actuary’s Department has concluded that the NHSPS remains good value and the “scheme pays” facility offers an efficient mechanism for meeting any tax liabilities.<sup>1</sup></p><p>The annual and lifetime allowances are important fiscal measures to ensure income tax relief on pension contributions is fair and sustainable. In context of the 1995 final salary section of the NHS Pension Scheme, clinicians who use up the full £40,000 annual allowance would see their annual pension increase by around £2,500. Clinicians who reach the £1 million lifetime allowance limit can expect an annual pension of around £44,000 payable at age 60 and increasing with inflation, plus a tax free lump sum of £132,000. Pensions of this size provide substantial financial security in retirement.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p> </p><p><sup>1</sup>This work considered the length of time a member subject to the annual allowance would need to receive pension in retirement to recover both their own contributions to the NHSPS and the annual allowance tax charge for the year in question. Although the exact period depends on a number of factors including level of pay, section of membership, age at retirement, amount of tax free cash selected at retirement and the means of paying the AA tax charge (scheme pays or in cash) in most cases the period is less than half the expected life expectancy in retirement.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency North East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Stephen Barclay question first answered 27/02/2018 17:34:11 answering member 4095 label Biography information for Steve Barclay
	tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1156547

	registered interest
	date	28/10/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of how many NHS senior medical staff have been asked to pay extra tax as a result of their pension contributions exceeding the Tapered Annual Allowance in the (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, and (3) 2018–19 tax years; and what was the average amount of tax that such staff were asked to pay in each of those years.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL427
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 05/11/2019 17:14:43 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1168446

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of pension legislation on the personal finances of high-earning doctors, that work unpredictable overtime shifts.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Mr Stephen Morgan
	uin	207
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2020 answer text <p>It is difficult to predict the impact of the tapered annual allowance for individual high earning doctors. Tapering applies to individuals whose taxable income exceeds £110,000 and whose adjusted income exceeds £150,000. Adjusted income is taxable income plus the value of annual pension growth. The standard annual allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £150,000, tapering down to a minimum allowance of £10,000.</p><p>The taper calculation takes into account all taxable income, including non-pensionable income such overtime sessions worked for the National Health Service, or private work. The Department cannot therefore make an assessment of the impact of the tapered annual allowance on the personal finances of high-earning doctors.</p><p>The Department recognises that the annual allowance may contribute to decisions from NHS consultants to retire early or limit their NHS commitments. We are also listening carefully to concerns raised by senior doctors and NHS employers about the tapered annual allowance, and the particular difficulties caused by the impact of non-pensionable income from providing additional much needed clinical sessions on the taper.</p><p>The Department has consulted on introducing flexibility within the NHS Pension Scheme from 2019/20 to allow clinicians affected by annual allowance tax charges to reduce their pension accrual in deciles in order to manage any potential annual allowance tax charges.</p><p>In September 2019 guidance was issued by NHS Employers informing employers of the short-term approaches that they could take to mitigate the effect of pension tax on their workforce this tax year. The NHS has also implemented an immediate measure to preserve clinical capacity amid the increased pressure on services during the winter period. This will compensate NHS clinicians for the effect on their pensions of annual allowance charges incurred in 2019-20.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 09/01/2020 12:09:41 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1124619

	registered interest
	date	02/05/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the Annual and Lifetime Allowance taxation rules on rates of early retirement among doctors.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	250519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>Membership data from the NHS Pension Scheme shows the number of hospital doctors and general practitioners (GPs) claiming their pension earlier than their normal pension age.</p><p>Whilst the scheme does not require individuals to give reasons for claiming their pension, the rise in voluntary early retirement rates coincides with reductions in pension tax allowances over the same period. The annual and lifetime allowances limit the amount by which an individual can grow their pension tax-free each year and in total. There is emerging evidence that pension tax may be a factor in doctors deciding to retire early or limit their National Health Service commitments. There are of course other factors, such as workload.</p><p>The Government is alive to the issues raised by senior clinicians, and keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review, taking account of total reward and fiscal considerations.</p><p>The following table shows the number of hospital doctors and GPs claiming their NHS Pension on a voluntary early retirement basis from the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Scheme Year</p></td><td><p>Hospital Doctors</p></td><td><p>GPs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>315</p></td><td><p>513</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>387</p></td><td><p>591</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>406</p></td><td><p>746</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>453</p></td><td><p>739</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>494</p></td><td><p>695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>490</p></td><td><p>721</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>424</p></td><td><p>588</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 09/05/2019 15:55:30 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1019500

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2018
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Doctors: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the pension cap on the number of (a) consultants and (b) GPs leaving the NHS.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
	tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
	uin	198148
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p>Membership data from the NHS Pension Scheme shows the number of hospital doctors and general practitioners (GPs) claiming their pension earlier than their normal retirement age. We cannot identify consultants separately, who belong to the hospital doctor group. This group also contains associate specialists and doctors in training. However, claiming a National Health Service pension does not necessarily mean the individual has left NHS service permanently. The 'retire and return' employment flexibility enables NHS employers to support skilled and experienced staff who may otherwise retire and leave service, to continue working longer.</p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the number of hospital doctors and GPs claiming their NHS pension on a voluntary early retirement basis from the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Scheme Year</p></td><td><p>Hospital doctors</p></td><td><p>GPs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>286</p></td><td><p>443</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>315</p></td><td><p>513</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>387</p></td><td><p>591</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>406</p></td><td><p>746</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>453</p></td><td><p>739</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>494</p></td><td><p>695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>490</p></td><td><p>721</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>424</p></td><td><p>588</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 06/12/2018 16:05:38 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching