NHS Pension Crisis

The unfair tax rules instigated by the government are seeing our most experienced doctors in the NHS being landed with ludicrous and unaffordable pension tax bills out of the blue. These charges are on top of usual income tax and national insurance and can run into the tens of thousands of pounds. As doctors are paying out of their pocket in order to work overtime for our struggling in our NHS. In some cases doctors have had to re-mortgage their home.

As a result of the Annual Allowance and the Taper consultants have therefore been forced to drop their hours in the NHS as well as their extra commitments.

This has exacerbated an already dire staffing crisis as we head into what has been predicted to be the worst winter yet for the NHS. This entirely predictable and avoidable crisis has meant longer waiting times for our patient and must urgently be addressed.

When we were consulted by the Department of Health on previous temporary measures which have failed to fix the crisis, our response was clear. The only solution is to scrap the annual allowance and taper for the NHS, and to repay those consultants who have been crippled by these unfair tax bills.

Data collected by DAUK shows our members and consultant colleagues do not have any confidence in a vague promise from a government has done little to earn the trust of the medical profession. The feeling is clear: an IOU is not worth the paper it is written on. We have listened to our members and therefore do not support these proposals, and will continue lobbying for a fairer solution that values staff and patients.