The government have confirmed that compensation will be available where an NHS Scheme member (GP or Consultant or other NHS member) has suffered “financial loss” under the NHS Cost Claim Back Scheme. Two amounts will be payable;
- If you need professional help in resubmitting annual allowance tax calculations over the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022) then the scheme will give an allowance up to £1,000 to cover professional costs incurred. These will need to be paid first then reclaimed from the scheme.
- If you need professional help in making a choice exercise, then an allowance of £500 is available for any professional help. Do note though that a choice is only made at retirement between whether you want this period to remain in the legacy schemes (1995 or 2008 NHS Pension Scheme) or move it back to the 2015 Scheme.
These are the two specifics referred to but there is further reference to claiming for a refund of costs if you:
- paid for professional advice about the move to the 2015 Scheme which is no longer valid due to rollback
- need additional advice due to the remedy changes
- have incurred other direct financial loss
So, do you need an advisor? We set out below some scenarios, though these may not cover everything given the complexities of the scheme.
The first important reminder though is this impacts only those who:
- Joined the NHS Pension Scheme before 31 March 2012
- Transitioned to the 2015 scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 (essentially anyone under the age of 53 ½ as of 1 April 2015)
If you are not impacted then you DO NOT need an advisor for McCloud. Progress no further! The rest does not apply to you.
Medics’ Money works with both accountants and IFAs who can be found on the links below. For McCloud work, which is non-advisory in parts, we also work with a couple of non-regulated firms who specifically do work on pension modelling without providing investment advice. This allows us to ensure you have things looked at by a professional who understands the NHS Pension.
https://www.medicsmoney.co.uk/medical-accountant-search/
https://www.medicsmoney.co.uk/find-a-specialist-medical-ifa/
If you need to contact an advisor about McCloud, firstly, read the examples below then follow the relevant link above and select the McCloud option. It is really helpful if you put details of your circumstances and the type of advice you are looking for as not all advisors can deal with everything, and some areas of advice will be complex (see the scenarios below as examples). By giving as much information as possible this allows us to ensure you get to the right person as quickly as possible.
Scenario | Who do I need? |
| I have never had an annual allowance charge and have not been issued with a remedial pension statement. | You are unlikely to need a tax submission. At the moment it may not impact you so you may not need an advisor. |
| I have had annual allowance pension tax charges and am still working. | You are likely to need a tax reclaim doing. Follow the accountant link. |
| I have had annual allowance pension tax charges but have retired. | You are likely to need a tax reclaim doing. Follow the accountant link. You are also going to have to make a choice decision as well. |
| I have had annual allowance pension tax charges but have retired. | You are going to have to make a choice decision. Follow the IFA link if you need help. |
| I have had annual allowance charges but opted out of the scheme for some of the period. | You are going to need a lot of help! Have a read of our contingent decisions page but its likely you need to start with the IFA link as you need financial advice on modelling options. |
| I have received a remedial pension savings statement but I have never had to make a declaration previously. | You will need someone to help with assessing the tax implications. Follow the accountant link. |
| I used to make additional contributions but stopped these because of the 2015 scheme and the impact on the annual allowance. | If you need help reassessing this then follow the IFA link. |
When using the referral service please also read our T&C’s https://www.medicsmoney.co.uk/terms/
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