Proposed flexibilities to the NHS Pension Scheme are unworkable and discriminatory, says the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants (AISMA).

Responding to the government’s consultation on pension flexibilities, the association, which includes some of the UK’s foremost authorities on the NHS Pension Scheme, says that the proposals represent uninformed tinkering with the NHS Pension regulations and that a complete re-think is required that must involve changes to pensions tax legislation.

AISMA also warns that the proposals, which only apply to senior clinicians, discriminate against other groups of employees, including highly paid NHS administrators and managers who may also be affected by the annual allowance tax rules.

Deborah Wood, AISMA vice-chairman and healthcare services partner at accountancy firm MHA Moore and Smalley, said: “These proposals do not make it any easier for doctors to understand their pension position. Deciding on a reasonable percentage of pay to pension to avoid a tax charge represents a game of chance for all doctors and for GPs this is compounded by out of date records due to the underperformance of Primary Care Support England (PCSE).”

Ms Wood says that most NHS Pension Scheme members have insufficient understanding of their own pension arrangements. While the consultation suggests that a modeller will be provided to assist with planning, she says this will only be as good as the person feeding information into it.

“Doctors would welcome a simplified system that was fairer and allowed a reduction in the fees for professional accountancy, tax and pensions advice. This could be achieved if the government decides to act on the recommendation of its independent tax adviser, The Office of Tax Simplification, which is to scrap the annual allowance cap on pensions.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Click here to read AISMA response in full

Read the DHSC’s consultation here.

For further information please contact Rosalind Dewar on 01580 764713 / 07785 182732 or email rosalind@dewargreen.com

The Office of Tax Simplification has suggested the annual allowance cap should be removed from defined benefit pension schemes, including the NHS Pension Scheme. Click here to read a full report, including a comment from AISMA executive board member Andrew Pow, on the GPonline.com website.

Deborah Wood, AISMA Vice-Chairman, offers this beginner’s guide to claiming for the work the practice carries out. Not always a straightforward task, these helpful tips, published on the Practice Index blog, will help practice managers keep on track. Click here to read the full article.

More commentary on the Pulse website about the NHS pension consultation published yesterday, with analysis from AISMA board member Andrew Pow. Visit the Pulse website to read the article in full.

The government has announced a new pension consultation to create more flexibility for doctors in the NHS Pension Scheme. Speaking to GPonline.com, AISMA board member Andrew Pow said that for many GPs it remained ‘very difficult to predict growth’ in pensions – and that tailoring contributions to avoid tax penalties would not be straightforward. To read the full article visit the GPonline.com website.

GPonline.com reports that over the three months to June 2019, the number of GPs in partnership roles in England fell by 287 – a 1.3% reduction in just over 90 days, according to figures from NHS Digital. Read the full article, including comments from AISMA accountant Andrew Pow, on the GPonline.com website.

Reports of concerns among clinical directors of primary care networks about the VAT implications of employing additional staff are the subject of a recent article published on the Pulse website, including a comment from AISMA accountant Lizzy Lloyd. Click here to read the full article.

AISMA accountant Michael Ogilvie writes the latest in a series of articles for Practice Index. Find out why practice managers trying to save the surgery money by managing the payroll or book keeping themselves can end up costing the practice more. Visit the Practice Index website to read the full article.

AISMA accountant Andrew Pow tells GPonline.com that the government’s plans to allow doctors greater flexibility around contributions to their pension will not solve the problem of GPs reducing their working hours to avoid punitive taxes. Read the article in full on the GPonline.com website.

Responding to today’s announcement from the DHSC, Andrew Pow, a board member of the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, and partner at Mazars UK, said:

“We welcome the government’s acknowledgement that the 50:50 proposal will not prevent senior doctors from being severely impacted by the tapered pension tax allowance.

“AISMA has long-argued for a review of pension tax rules since it was clear from the outset that the 2016 changes would discourage senior doctors from working extra shifts in what was an already stretched health service.”

Read the DHSC announcement