www.independent-practitioner-today.co.uk
June 2021 Issue 133
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
The business journal for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Hospital extends its reach A picture tour of a new private clinic in London’s Cavendish Square P12
The nameplate is just the start of it
The most important things you need to do when starting out in private practice P22
£12.50
It’s safe to go back in the water
Why we struggle to get risks in perspective when investing n See page 32
Medical indemnity at the press of a button
An enhancement to The Private Practice Register will streamline buying medical indemnity P24
Doctors are given more time to sort pension tax By Robin Stride Doctor s who are asking t he Government to pay their large tax bills caused by breaching annual pension savings limits in 2019-20 have been given more time to apply for help through the voluntary Scheme Pays system. They have now been granted an extra eight months to sort out their applications. The deadline, normally falling every 31 July, has been extended to 31 March 2022 to support those who are dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. When individuals elect to use Scheme Pays, the NHS Pension Scheme pays their annual allowance tax bill to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on their behalf, with that member’s benefits in retirement being reduced accordingly. The Government had previously agreed to pay the tax charge of clinicians in England and Wales who breached the annual allowance pensions savings limits for 2019-20 only – but those affected must apply for Scheme Pays to claim this offer. Patrick Convey, technical direcIn association with
tor of specialist financial planners Cavendish Medical, explained: ‘This deadline extension is good news if you are struggling to complete the necessary forms in time. ‘However, one confusing element is that you will have already completed your 2019-20 tax return earlier this year. Hopefully, you told HMRC then that you intend to apply for Scheme Pays to settle any annual allowance charge and not opted to pay via self-assessment. ‘And even with the extension in place, I would encourage those that can to complete the forms as soon as possible so you do not forget to apply or run out of time. ‘It is also wise to get your figures double-checked – the McCloud judgment could mean that the numbers for the last few years need to be changed retrospectively.’ This judgment ruled that doctors affected by the deemed ‘age discrimination’ of moving to the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme have the right to make a ‘deferred choice’ of which remedy benefits to take. Consequently, they can decide at t he time of t heir retirement whether to accept the pension benefits from their previous 1995/2008 pension scheme or those from the
2015 scheme for t he remedy period, which is from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. Mr Convey added: ‘Note that even when there is some good news for NHS scheme members like this Scheme Pays deadline extension, every change to the rules and regulations has the potential to make
the pension plan, and its calculations, ever more complex. ‘The best way to deal with this is to plan as far ahead as you can and seek help to check you are still on the right track when things do change.’
n See ‘Get tax relief for working at home’, page 4
Doctor set to save £33,000
The extended deadline will generate wider knowledge of this topic and be a big bonus to those affected, according to the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants (AISMA). AISMA vice-chairman James Gransby said: ‘There are still clinicians who can benefit from this compensation who are unaware of its existence and so any effort to ensure everyone who can benefit knows that this exists is very welcome. ‘It also aligns the deadline to a second submission which is needed alongside the Scheme Pays Election form in order to benefit from the compensation mechanism. This is an important aspect not to be missed. ‘It is called a “2019/20 annual allowance charge compensation policy application form” and the next window of opportunity to submit this is between 2 August 2021 and 1 October 2021.’ He told Independent Practitioner Today: ‘A hospital consultant client of mine will benefit from this to the tune of over £33,000 and there will be much larger examples out there too. ‘We still recommend sending the Scheme Pays Election as soon as possible and not waiting until the extended deadline. This is because posthumous elections are not permitted and, sadly, there will always be cases where this becomes a factor.’