Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Ministers act to end NHS pensions row amid waiting list rise

Ministers act to end NHS pensions row amid waiting list rise

The government has come up with new proposals for England and Wales to end the row with doctors over pensions. Doctors had started refusing to do overtime shifts because they were being landed with bills after changes to the amount that can be accrued tax-free.

Just weeks after ruling out reviewing the rules, ministers now say they will.

A consultation launched by Theresa May's government offering to introduce more pension flexibility is also being replaced by more radical solutions.

The previous consultation was only published on 22 July.

But it was reassessed following the appointment as prime minister of Boris Johnson, who had promised to address the issue during the Tory leadership contest.

The pensions row has been linked to a rise in waiting times for routine surgery caused by medics refusing to work beyond their planned hours.


What is being proposed?

The government said it would now be putting forward a plan to allow doctors complete flexibility when it comes to scaling down their pension contributions to avoid breaching the annual tax-free allowance.

The allowance has been reduced from £255,000 a year in 2010-11 to £40,000 - and drops still further for the highest earners.

This tends to affect those earning more than £110,000, around a third of senior doctors and GPs

Previously the government had said it favoured a 50:50 option whereby public sector staff could forsake half the amount paid into their pension.

But now ministers have said they will publish a consultation in the coming weeks which favours giving public sector staff the ability to reduce contributions to zero.

It will also allow doctors to be given the contributions the employer would have made, meaning their pay packets could be boosted by thousands of pounds a year.

Meanwhile, the Treasury has agreed to look at how public sector workers are taxed on their pensions to see if the rules can be relaxed.

Some doctors have reported being landed with huge unexpected tax bills.

What happens next?

The plans will be set out in a consultation published during the summer with a view to introducing them from April.

But to help relieve the problems immediately, the government is also promising to allow doctors to opt out from the pension scheme for this financial year.

Again, guidance will be published in the coming weeks.

The government hopes this will relieve the pressure on hospitals, which have reported waiting lists are lengthening because doctors are refusing extra shifts.

It will be up to Scotland and Northern Ireland to decide whether to make similar changes, although the way pensions work in those parts of the UK is slightly different anyway.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "NHS doctors do extraordinary life-saving work every day - they should not have to worry about the tax impacts if they choose to go the extra mile by taking on additional work to help patients."

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, of the British Medical Association, said: "We acknowledge this step forward by the government."

"After tireless lobbying on the damaging effect that perverse and ill-thought out tax legislation is having on our NHS, its doctors and patients, it is good to see the government finally sitting up and taking notice and proposing action."

But Sara Gorton from the union Unison said: "Introducing measures to help only a small proportion of the millions of active NHS scheme members looks alarmingly like the beginning of a 'clinicians-first' approach to pension strategy."

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the pension changes had undermined the ability of the NHS to provide care to patients and ministers still need to do more to address existing staff shortages.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×