The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is consulting on the proposal to extend the temporary change to the NHS pension scheme’s retire and return rules.

In March 2020, the government temporarily suspended certain rules for retired or partially retired NHS staff, meaning that they were able to return to work, or increase their working commitments, without having their pension benefits suspended. From 25th March 2022 until 31st October 2022, this suspension continued via temporary modifications - with the end date being kept under review. With the NHS expecting a “challenging” winter, a three week consultation into extending the measures until 31st March 2023 has now been launched.

The proposal states:

“The continued need for NHS staff who contract COVID-19 to isolate and miss work means that staff sickness absence rates are currently higher than pre-pandemic levels. This has a negative impact on NHS capacity at a time when demand for services is high. It is possible that sickness absence rates due to COVID-19 will increase further in the coming winter months, due to the respiratory nature of the virus. On this basis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is of the view that the suspension of the restrictions on return to work should continue to 31 March 2023.”

The amendment to regulation 9 of the 2022 regulations would continue the temporary suspension of:

• The 16-hour rule in the 1995 section (this rule requires staff who retire and return from the 1995 section to work 16 hours a week (2 days) or less in the first month after retirement. Where staff work more than this limit, their pension benefits are temporarily suspended until their working commitments are reduced).

• Abatement of SCS members who retire and return to work between age 55 and 60 - in the 1995 section (abatement applies where staff return to work before age 60 and their pension plus salary exceeds their pre-retirement income).

• Abatement of draw-down members who claim a portion of their benefits and continue working - in the 2008 section and 2015 scheme (abatement requires them to reduce their pensionable pay by 10% upon each election to draw down benefits).

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, stated:

“The NHS will need all of the help it can get this winter and so, we are pleased the government will be consulting on ways to provide support to the NHS’s workforce by encouraging recent and partial retirees back to the frontline.”