Figures provided to the British Medical Journal by the NHS Business Services Authority show that the number of NHS doctors taking an early retirement in England and Wales has more than tripled over the last 13 years, with 1358 doctors taking an early retirement this year compared with just 401 in 2008.
Overall retirement among NHS doctors also increased by 21 per cent since 2008, with 2952 doctors retiring this year, compared with 2431.
The age at which the doctors are retiring has also fallen, with doctors now retiring at an average age of 59, compared with 61 in 2008.
The BMA has said that changes to tax regulation were a motivating factor leading doctors to retire.
Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA pensions committee, called the current pension taxation system “punitive,” adding that experienced doctors were left with few options “but to consider early retirement”.
These changes have come into effect since 2010 and have left senior doctors facing steep tax bills and difficult choices. Aside from early retirement, some doctors choose to opt out and then back into their pension schemes, to avoid surpassing their lifetime allowances.
Repeated BMA surveys have demonstrated that more than half of doctors planned on retiring before the age of 60, with the majority citing pension taxation as the primary reason.
Mr Sharma said that the situation had been exacerbated by the government’s decision to freeze the lifetime allowance for pensions taxation at its current level of £1,073,100 until April 2026 in this year’s budget.
