RCoA response to pension concerns

Dr Krishna Ramachandran, Chair of the Workforce and Strategy Committee said:

“Whilst it is not within the remit of the Royal College of Anaesthetists to comment on salary scales, the issues affecting prompt and accurate salary payments, and of pensions does impact on the welfare and morale of our membership.

“The current pensions cap is forcing many doctors to reduce their contracted work sessions, and discourages them from providing cover for additional clinical work (waiting list initiatives, uncovered out of hours on call sessions), which compounds the workforce issues. Many are leaving the pension scheme many years before retirement to avoid stiff tax penalties for breaching the new HMRC limits so the income/contributions to pensions is reduced.”