Emergency pension rules extended to stop exodus of senior NHS staff

The Government has announced plans to extend emergency pension measures to stop an NHS talent drain of the most experienced nurses, following pressure from Telegraph Money.

A fresh wave of departures of senior health workers has been looming as thousands will be punished for coming out of retirement to help in the fight against coronavirus, taking a cut to their pension if they continue to work.

In total, 7,470 health professionals would be forced back into retirement on March 25 if rules suspended during the pandemic came back into force, figures from a Freedom of Information request confirmed last month.

However, the Department of Health and Social Care has published a proposal to extend the deadline for an additional seven months, until Oct 31. This has been drafted into the legislation.

It follows repeated warnings from the NHS and trade unions of staff shortages and that older staff were still required.

Graham Crossley, of the wealth manager Quilter, who submitted the Freedom of Information request and has been campaigning for the extension, said: “Doctors and nurses could be forced out of the NHS at a critical time if these rules were not extended, so it is laudable that the Government has read and acted on these warnings.”

Some workers will have already left in anticipation of the deadline, Mr Crossley said. He wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care warning of the staff exodus unless action were taken.

The extension will “ensure the NHS can continue to benefit from the capacity boost provided by retired and partially retired staff when responding to the pandemic”, the Government said. It added that retired staff had been vital in tackling the pandemic and assisting with the vaccine rollout effort. Pension “abatement” applies to nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and mental health officers, who can retire at 55 without losing any of their pension. Their pension is reduced, however, if they continue to work and their pension and NHS earnings exceed their pre- retirement earnings. This rule was suspended as part of the Coronavirus Act 2020 to encourage retired healthcare professionals to return. The Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation will run until March 1.