The number of staff opting out of the NHS pension scheme has doubled in the space of just one year as the cost of living crisis grips hard, Royal College of Nursing analysis shows.
The data, from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), shows that between April and July this year, 66,167 NHS staff in England and Wales opted out of their NHS pensions. This is more than double the 30,270 who opted out in the same period last year and equates to over 550 NHS staff being forced to opt out each day between April and July this year.
The figures also show more than 4,000 registered nurses opted out of their NHS pensions between April and July this year and, in total, almost 12,000 nurses have opted out since April last year.
However, the RCN says this is just the tip of the iceberg and even greater numbers of nursing staff are likely to have opted out.
The data only provides a breakdown of registered nurses but wider nursing staff - including healthcare assistants who play a key role in health and care services - are likely to make up a large proportion of the 66,000 NHS staff who have opted out.
The data also reveals that between April and July 2021, around 11,500 NHS staff said they opted out because of affordability and facing other financial priorities. This grew to 23,000 in the same period this year.
While just under half (47%) said this was a temporary decision, the RCN fears that the continuing cost of living crisis will mean many more people will be forced to opt out of the scheme.
A newly qualified nurse in England and Wales on a salary of around £27,000 would pay about £183 on their basic salary into their pension each month – money that many nurses desperately need to put towards rising food, heating and petrol costs.
The rising numbers of nursing and other NHS staff opting out of their pensions comes amid soaring inflation and as nursing staff face incredible financial hardship after a decade of real-terms pay cuts.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said:
“It is a sad day when the people who care for this country from cradle to grave don’t earn enough to provide for their own future.
“A lifetime of service should never mean a lifetime of poverty.
“With living costs soaring, this situation is only going to get worse. Some nurses are having to use food banks just to get by. Many are leaving the profession and ultimately it’s patients who are suffering – the nursing workforce crisis means care is being left undone and is putting patients at risk.
“A simple way to recruit and retain more staff is to pay them fairly. But ministers haven’t listened and we’re now having to consider strike action. Enough is enough.”
Nurse and RCN member Jodie Elliott, from London, opted out of her NHS pension because she could no longer afford it.
She said it had been an agonising decision that had “horrified” her family, adding: “My family had always drilled into me the importance of securing my financial future, but every single month I was getting to the bottom of both my overdrafts despite being extremely careful.
“I work full-time and despite constantly picking up extra work, I just couldn’t make ends meet. I had no choice but to leave the scheme.”
Overall, the figures show 4,378 registered nurses opted out of their NHS pensions between April and July this year and, in total, 11,937 nurses have opted out since April last year.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The data is contained in tables on pages nine and 10 of an update paper of the NHS Business Services Authority’s Scheme Advisory Board meeting held on September 7, 2022.
The data shows that 34,406 NHS staff who opted out between April and July in both 2021 and 2022 cited affordability or other financial pressures as the reason. Of those, 16,132 said it was a temporary opt out due to other financial priorities, meaning around 47% of the total number said it would be temporary.
The data shows that between April and July this year, 66,167 NHS staff in England and Wales opted out of their NHS pensions. Over the four months between April and July – or approximately 120 days – this equates to over 550 NHS staff opting out every day.
The data also shows 4,378 registered nurses opted out of their NHS pensions between April and July 2022 and, in total, 11,937 nurses have opted out since April 2021.
The RCN opened a strike ballot for members working for the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales, and for the HSC in Northern Ireland, on October 6. It will close on November 2.
It is the first time in the union’s 106-year history that it has balloted members on strike action across the UK.
From October 2022 the average member pension contribution rate is 9.8% – up from 9.3%. The employer contribution rate remains at 20.8% of members’ pensionable pay.
Active members receive a pension benefit based on 1/56th of their pensionable pay. A full-time band 5 nurse earning at the top of their pay band over a career of 25 years could expect an annual pension benefit of approximately £14,200pa. However, most nurses will not achieve this figure due to the prevalence of part-time working and/or not being a member of the scheme for the whole of their career. The rising levels of opt out reduce potential pension benefits further still.
