Cost of living crisis forcing nurses to quit their NHS pensions

‘I just couldn’t make ends meet. I had no choice but to leave the scheme,’ says nurse Jodie Elliot

Jodie Elliot, a nurse from London, said she opted out of her NHS pension because she could no longer afford it (RCN)

The cost of living crisis is forcing nurses to quit their pensions, according to new figures.

The number of staff leaving the NHS pension scheme has doubled from 30,270 to 66,167 in just one year, according to an analysis by The Royal College of Nursing.

More than 4,000 nurses opted out of their pension between April and July this year, with 12,000 doing so since April last year.

According to the RCN analysis, between April and July 2021, 11,500 staff said they opted out of the pension due to affordability and “facing other financial priorities”. In 2020 this doubled to 23,000.

Data shows 34,406, 47 per cent of those opting out between April and July 2021 and 2022, said it was a temporary decision.

The RCN said it fears more nurses will opt out in the face of the growing cost of living crisis.

Nurse and RCN member Jodie Elliott, from London, said she opted out of her NHS pension because she could no longer afford it.

She added: “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.”

The news comes as the RCN’s ballot for nurses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is set to close next week and could result in unprecedented strike action.

The nursing union said a nurse on a salary of £27,000 would usually pay around £183 a month into their pension.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen (left) (PA Archive)

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.”

Wider concerns that the current cap of lifetime pension allowance is forcing NHS doctors out of the services, The Sunday Times reported last week.

The current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has raised the issue within his role as the Commons Health Committee chair, calling for the government to grant an exemption for doctors.

Data shows between April 2022 and July 2022, 1,490 NHS staff opted out of the pension scheme due to the annual and lifetime allowance. Between April 2021 and March 2022, more than 4,000 NHS workers opted out due to this reason.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: "The NHS Pension Scheme offers significant value and security of guaranteed income in every year of retirement, on some of the most generous terms available from a pension scheme.

“We are also giving over 1 million NHS workers - including nurses - a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, as recommended by the independent NHS Pay Review Body.

“The government’s Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household around £700 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. In addition, we have provided at least an extra £1,200 of cost-of-living support to 8 million of the most vulnerable households."