PUBLIC-SECTOR unions and medical representatives yesterday criticised proposals to curb pensions for 1.3 million NHS staff and to raise the retirement age from 60 to 65.

Under proposals announced yesterday, senior doctors could lose more than £20,000 a year in pension payments. Many junior NHS staff will also lose out.

The British Medical Association said that many consultants would leave the NHS as a result. Paul Miller, chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “It is a pay cut, it will lower morale and will cause some consultants to leave the NHS and retire early.”

Unison, which is consulting on strike action, said the proposal to force NHS workers to retire at 65 would increase the level of ill-health retirement and cost the NHS more. Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: “MPs who will retire at the next election with a five-star pension package are plotting to make NHS staff work longer for less pension.”

The First Division Association (FDA), which represents senior NHS managers, said the “pensions misery” would hit five million public-sector workers. Jonathan Baume, FDA general secretary, said: “These changes are unjustified, unnecessary and unacceptable and amount to nothing less than a tax on performance.”

Public-sector unions are meeting at the TUC today to finalise a day of action next month against the proposals.

Yesterday’s consultation paper gives two options for pension arrangements, which will come into effect in 2006 for new workers and in 2013 for current staff.

The first is a switch to a career average salary scheme which would penalise the higher paid and those who are promoted several times during their career.

This scheme, which will save billions of pounds in the longer term, has already been proposed for civil servants and the Government is believed to be pressing for this across the public sector.

The second option retains a final salary package without a lump sum but with a higher accrual rate than at present.

The NHS employers are consulting on both schemes but ministers will make the final decision on which is adopted.

Tim Sands, NHS employers’ project manager, said: “The NHS needs to retain older staff. We will be able to offer people the opportunity of a larger pension for working longer.”

The Royal College of Nursing said that increasing the pension age failed to recognise “the emotional and physical demands of nursing which could prevent many nurses from working to this age”.

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