Trust’s pension fix refusal risks wave of doctor resignations

A ‘significant flurry’ of senior doctors will look to retire after a trust rejected a scheme designed to avoid higher taxes on their pensions, according to internal emails.

Emails from senior doctors suggest Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust has rejected proposals to introduce “pension recycling”, a scheme endorsed nationally to avoid the tax rules.

Government policy changes in 2016 reduced tax relief on higher earners’ pension contributions. This has discouraged clinical consultants from taking on extra shifts, and in some cases, prompted people to retire earlier than planned.

Last month, NHS England’s chief executive Amanda Pritchard suggested this was a continuing problem for hospitals as they seek to increase elective activity.

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Source: HSJ, 29 April 2022