Doctors can claim back cash for financial help
New scheme launched to recompense pension scheme members
By Edie Bourne
Doctors who have used financial advisers and accountants to help them to navigate the complexities of their pension ‘McCloud remedy’ can now recover some of the cost of receiving that help.
The ‘Cost Claim Back Scheme’ has just been launched for NHS Pension Scheme members affected by McCloud, formally known as the ‘Public Service Pensions Remedy’.
The McCloud remedy aims to recompense NHS scheme members deemed to have suffered age discrimination when the 2015 pension scheme was introduced.
Those members now have the option to receive their original benefits from the 1995 or 2008 scheme for the seven years of the ‘remedy period’, which runs from 2015 when the new pension scheme began to 2022.
Expert advice
Guy Beck
Guy Beck, senior financial planner with specialists Cavendish Medical, explained: ‘Like most things concerned with the NHS pension, the rules surrounding McCloud are complex and many doctors have been, quite rightly, seeking expert advice from professionals who can help them make the best decisions for their situation.
‘It is therefore great news that the Government is giving some financial assistance – albeit minor – to help to cover the cost of understanding what McCloud means and what their best course of action might be.’
The NHS Cost Claim Back Scheme covers not only professional advice but also direct financial losses or tax losses incurred because of the remedy.
The limit to claims for using an accountant is £1,000 including VAT and for using a financial adviser it is £500 including VAT.
Mr Beck told Independent Practitioner Today: ‘There is a sizeable application form to complete in order to make a claim and a ten-page rulebook.
‘Different forms are required for each professional service, so if you are claiming for accountant and adviser costs, you will need to produce two forms, which can be downloaded from the NHS Business Services Authority website.’