Soaring numbers of GPs are retiring in their fifties because pension changes have made it unprofitable for them to carry on working, experts warn. A total of 5,117 have left since 2012-13 and their average retirement age is now just 59, and falling.
Accountants say there has been an ‘acceleration’ in the numbers retiring in their mid-fifties in the past 12 months and the issue is a ‘ticking time bomb’ for GP provision.
They put it down to the Government imposing a £1.25million cap on the amount all employees can put into their pensions over their careers. Although this seems high, many family doctors on six- figure salaries hit the limit by the time they reach their early to mid-fifties. This means there is little incentive to carry on practising.
In 2014-15, 1,697 GPs retired. This represents 5.2% of the entire workforce of 32,628 full-time GPs in England.
Source:
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