Fewer clinicians using partial retirement

The number hospital doctors and GPs taking advantage of the option to ‘partially retire’ has significantly slowed, NHS data reveals.

According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Wesleyan Financial Services, 459 completed applications for partial retirement have been made by medical staff for the first five months of the year, nearly half the amount of the same period the year before (869).

Of the applications completed so far for 2025, 428 were filed by hospital doctors (vs. 824 last year – while just 31 were from GPs (vs. 45 last year).

Partial retirement was introduced for NHSPS members, aged 55 and over, in an effort to keep experienced doctors working in the NHS, who might otherwise choose to retire fully. It means they can take part, or all, of their pension benefits on one or two occasions, and continue in NHS employment, provided they reduce their pensionable employment pay by at least 10%.

This measure was already available to staff in the 2008 ‘section’ and 2015 NHSPS but was extended to members of the 1995 ‘section’ in October 2023. Since then, a total of 23,585 completed applications have been made across the scheme.

Wilf Moralee, Medical Regional Manager at Wesleyan, said: “There are likely a lot of factors behind these numbers.

“From my experience, the chief barriers are often a deeply engrained sense of duty that means doctors don’t want to reduce their hours and leave colleagues handling challenging conditions, and quite simply a lack of awareness that the facility is available or that the rules have changed.

“We’re encouraging every doctor to at least keep partial retirement in mind. It can be incredibly powerful in helping manage burnout and in enabling medics to pursue fulfilling portfolio careers – which could be anything from undertaking research to teaching. And, it doesn’t even have to mean doing less. Although you need a 10% reduction in pensionable hours, you can often negotiate with your trust to fill that with non-pensionable work.

“Of course, tax is often raised as a concern. But even if there’s a tax bill to pay, it might be in a doctor’s best interests to still explore this option if the time and money that partial retirement can afford is worth it for their wellbeing. Especially for members over 60 years old in the 1995 section of the NHSPS, there are no actuarial enhancements for delaying taking the pension, so it may be a choice between a little extra tax on taking their pension compared to missing out on the income entirely.

“Of course, circumstances vary, but that’s why it is important to receive professional advice before starting on the applications.”