September 2019 Issue 114
www.independent-practitioner-today.co.uk
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
We’ve had plastic surgery! Independent Practitioner Today is going plastic-free by cutting out wrapping
The business journal for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Succeed at real Monopoly Seven myths that shouldn’t stop you from investing in property P20
No grey areas
£12.50
n With thanks to Healthcode for sharing the back page with readers’ addresses
Playing a game of risk
How the bold use of colour can help create a great healthcare experience P26
Trying to beat the market? An expert explains the costly challenges of active investment managment P42
Check your pensions By Robin Stride
Busy independent practitioners are being urged to schedule space to get their pension position assessed following revised Govern ment plans to ease doctors’ tax burdens. Specialist medical financial plan ners warn that, more than ever before, senior medics will need to take some time to carefully plan their likely earnings and contribu tions for the foreseeable future. Patrick Convey, technical direc tor of specialist financial planners Cavendish Medical, said: ‘This is an area which requires expert advice and careful modelling of the best options available. ‘This is not a time to make any rash decisions without exploring every opportunity or threat to the financial status quo.’ With annual pensions state ments now obtainable from the NHS Pensions Agency, he advised doctors to request their own state ment as soon as possible and not wait for it to be sent automatically ‘as there can be errors in the system’. They should then use this as a basis for detailed discussions to ascertain their position and the resultant tax implications. Total Reward Statements are also now available from t he NHS Pensions Agency, which detail an individual employee’s basic pay, In association with
allowances and pension benefits, but do not include annual allow ance liabilities. Cavendish’s plea came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson sig nalled that modifying doctors’ pensions was a main priority. One of his first moves was to scrap a two-week-old consultation outlining a ‘50:50’ flexible pen sions plan and replace it with new proposals to allow doctors increased control to scale down pension con tributions or take their employer contributions as salary. Mr Convey said: ‘The NHS Pension Scheme has entered an unprece dented “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” phase of announcements and about-turns. No sooner is one con sultation launched than another quickly replaces it. ‘This latest attempt at easing the NHS workforce crisis means senior practitioners may be able to adjust their pension contributions in order to change their rate of pen sion growth. ‘The official line from the Dep artment of Health and Social Care is that NHS scheme members could therefore choose to make contributions in 10% increments while receiving the equivalent accrual rate – possibly building a pension pot at a more gradual rate. ‘While it is good news that the Government is no longer hiding from the very real problems that punitive tax charges are having on
the NHS, on patients and on indi vidual doctors, these plans will undoubtedly add significant extra layers of complexity for busy med ics keen to just get on with helping people.’ Meanwhile, some doctors could be compensated for age discrimina tion following a court ruling favour ing firefighters. The Supreme Court upheld an earlier r uling that changes made to firefighters’ pen sions in 2015 discriminated against younger workers. A review of pension-related age discrimination will now be con ducted across all other public sec tor schemes. Under the 2015 changes, those ten years from retirement were pro tected from reforms which saw
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younger workers moved into less generous pension arrangements. In 2018, the court found that those too far away from retirement, and too young to qualify for ‘transi tional protection’, were unfairly discriminated against. The Treasury has stated that as ‘transitional protection’ was offered to members of all the main public service pension schemes, including the NHS, any firefighters’ remedy must be employed across all public sector retirement plans. Mr Convey added: ‘This ruling may mean a windfall for affected NHS scheme members who were forced to move to the less generous 2015 pension scheme, but compen sation has yet to be established.’ n See page 3
SURGING AHEAD: Consultant Mr David Gateley has sailed away from it all to tackle an epic round-theworld yacht race for charity. But he reckons his operating theatre skills should prove useful during the adventure. n See page 4