"Government needs to see sense and permanently end the abatement rules which will lead to more staff being retained within the NHS"
The changes would make it easier for staff to return to the workforce or to continue supporting the health system throughout a potentially challenging upcoming winter period.
Since March 2020, certain retire and return rules in the pension scheme have been suspended to allow retired staff to return to work or increase their working commitments without having the payment of their pension benefits suspended.
The measures are currently set to run until 31 October 2022 and the consultation will gather views from the public and stakeholders on whether to extend the measures to 31 March 2023.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: "The country is hugely thankful to all the retired staff who returned to support the NHS and the public during the pandemic. This winter will be challenging too and we are putting in place the necessary preparations to support the NHS while it continues to deliver first-rate care to patients.
"As part of this we are now consulting on extending temporary changes to the NHS pension scheme, which have so far allowed highly-skilled retired staff to return to the workforce without having their pension benefits affected."
Graham Crossley, NHS pensions expert at Quilter, commented: “It is pleasing to see the government consult on tackling the ongoing issue of abatement, which allows recently retired NHS staff to return to work without suffering a penalty on their pension. However, the proposal to extend the suspension of the abatement rules to 31 March 2023 does not go far enough.
“Another short-term extension only leads to worry and uncertainty for NHS staff. Government needs to see sense and permanently end the abatement rules which will lead to more staff being retained within the NHS, more income tax receipts for government, and might even encourage other staff to return from retirement to help tackle the backlog.
"Figures obtained by Quilter through a Freedom of Information request in February 2022 revealed that over 7,470 doctors and nurses could be at risk of a financial penalty on their pension once the Coronavirus Act powers expire and could therefore leave the health service as a result.
“The NHS is facing a number of headwinds, but they are compounded by issues surrounding NHS pensions. This results in healthcare workers suffering penalties on their pensions or not being given adequate time to file complicated pension tax paperwork when they have other things front of mind like helping the health service to get back on its feet.”
