Army ‘will be hit by doctors’ pension trap’

THE PEnSIOnS timebomb which is engulfing doctors will have knock-on effects for the armed Forces, a trade union has warned.

gPs and consultants are taking early retirement or reducing their hours as a result of punitive new pension rules.

The British Medical association says the workforce of military doctors, which is already small and understaffed, will be particularly badly hit.

a quarter of the 723 ‘medical officer’ jobs in the armed Forces is unfilled, including gP and consultant posts. These are doctors stationed with the army, Royal navy and Royal air Force across the world in such troublespots as afghanistan.

The BMa wrote to Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt this week urging her to introduce special reforms for military doctors’ pensions.

‘any delay ... would be very likely to lead to consultants and senior gPs leaving the armed Forces, something which the service can ill afford at this time,’ the letter states.

‘We are also concerned that such a drop in the DMS (Defence Medical Services) workforce is likely to lead to shortages.’ The reforms, introduced in 2016, have led to the highest earning doctors being hit with hefty tax bills on pensions. Some doctors have decided against carrying on working as they are paying more tax than the amount of money going into their pension pots.

Others have substantially cut back on overtime and weekend work, as the higher their earnings the more they will be hit by the taxes.

The BMa has warned that this will all have negative effects on patients with longer waiting lists for operations and poorer quality care.

Referring to the impact on the armed Forces, Dr Chaand nagpaul, chairman of the BMa council, said: ‘There remains no sign of a plan from ministers that will prevent doctors from receiving prohibitively high tax bills which could deter them from working longer hours or taking the decision to retire early. This will exacerbate an already worrying shortage of military doctors.’

Yesterday the Mail revealed how the BMa had circulated guidance to consultants urging them to cut their hours for higher pensions.

a Treasury spokesman said: ‘ We want people to save into a pension. We do have to get the balance right between encouraging saving and managing government finances, which is why we restrict the tax relief for the highest earners.’