Dr. Ndubuisi “Andy” Egwim (The Money Wise Doctor) reviews whether the NHS Pension remains worthwhile (video dated Jan 11, 2026). He explains the NHS scheme is a defined-benefit plan offering guaranteed, inflation-linked lifetime income, significant employer contributions (effectively up to ~23.7%), inflation protection, government-backed stability, ill‑health and death‑in‑service benefits, and tax efficiency. He highlights that many NHS staff are opting out—citing NHS Business Services Authority September 2025 data of over 221,000 staff (≈13% of eligible staff) and ~7,000 opt-outs in that month alone—and warns many do so without understanding long‑term costs. He lists real downsides (lower take‑home pay, less individual control, rising minimum pension ages—e.g., from 55→57 on 6 April 2028 for some joiners—and scheme complexity) and contrasts the certainty of the NHS DB pension with the flexibility and market risk of personal pensions. The video promotes his book The Money Wise Doctor and free resources for NHS professionals and urges careful, informed decision‑making rather than reactive opt‑outs.
Questions this video answers
January 11, 2026
Over 221,000 NHS staff (around 13% of eligible staff) according to NHS Business Services Authority September 2025 data.
Around 7,000 in September 2025.
Up to 23.7% (presenter cites this as a potential employer contribution impact).
From 6 April 2028 (for those who joined on or after 4 November 2021 or who do not have protection).
Chapters
The NHS pension scheme. It has been described as one of the most generous pension schemes in the uk. So here's the question. Why are tens of thousands of NHS professionals choosing to leave it every single year? Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists, allied health professionals. In fact, according to September 2025 data from the NHS Business Services Authority, over 221,000 NHS staff are currently opted out of the NHS pension scheme. That's around 13% of eligible staff. And in September 2025 alone, around 7,000 NHS staff submitted opt out forms. Now, here's the part most headlines miss. From my experience of providing financial education to thousands of doctors and healthcare professionals, many of those opting out are doing so without fully understanding what they're giving up. And that decision could quietly cost tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds over your entire career. So if you've ever wondered, is the NHS pension scheme really worth it anymore? Should I opt out to improve my take home pay? Or could I do better on my own with a personal pension or my own investment? Then this video could help you avoid a very expensive mistake. Now, for those of you who are new here, I'm Dr. Andy Egwim. I'm a former salaried NHS GP investor for over 21 years and the founder of the Money Wise Doctor. I left my salaried NHS GP role three years ago after achieving financial freedom and I've since then helped thousands of NHS staff professionals make smarter financial decisions through my master classes, webinars and also one on one work. I'm also the author of the Money Wise Doctor is an Amazon Best seller in retirement planning, investing and personal finance. Now, just to be clear, this is not financial advice, it's education based on experience and the financial realities NHS professionals face today. Now, back to the NHS pension. From speaking to over 1,500 NHS professionals in my sessions, one thing is clear. Most people don't opt out because the NHS pension is bad. They opt out because the take home pay feels squeezed, the scheme feels complex, they don't understand how valuable it actually is, or they assume they could do better themselves. And that assumption is where problems begin if you don't know what you're doing. So let's slow this down and look at the NHS pension properly. What the NHS pension actually is. The NHS pension is a defined benefit pension. That means it's not based on investment returns, it's not affected by stock market crashes, and it doesn't depend on how well your investment fund performs. Instead, it promises you a guaranteed Inflation linked income for life based on your pensionable pay and how long you've been a member of the scheme. Now, most NHS staff today are in the 2015 care scheme where you build up pension benefits every single year you work. Now, the other thing to look at is the real benefits. So why is this so powerful? The NHS pension scheme 1. Guaranteed income for life. This is the big one. If you retire at your scheme retirement age and live for 20 years, 30 years or even longer, your pension keeps paying. That longevity protection is incredibly expensive to replicate privately. 2. Employer contributions. Often underestimated. When you're in the NHS pension, you are effectively receiving a significant employer contribution that you do not get as cash. If you opt out, it could be up to 23.7%. Opting out is basically taking a pay cut. You can't invest confidently if you are one emergency away from financial disaster. You need to build your financial foundations first. I've read over 250 books on personal finance and business. Not one of them explains specific issues that affect medics like NHS pensions, financial anxiety, investing, student loans and much more. Hi, I'm Dr. Andy Egwim. I'm the founder of moneywisedoctor.com for over 21 years I've been investing and studying personal finance. In fact, three years ago I left my salaried NHS GP job after achieving financial independence. Since then, over 1200 medics have joined our Tax Efficient Investing Master classes that are totally free and much more than that. 10,000 doctors and healthcare professionals have used my content to make smarter financial decisions and avoid costly mistakes. That's why I wrote the Money Wise Doctor. Money Wise Doctor is a step by step guide. The book to simplify the path from confusion to clarity for medics and to help you make smarter financial decisions and avoid costly mistakes that can affect your future. We've already helped thousands of doctors learn how to save smarter and invest tax efficiently and finally feel in control, in charge of their financial future. Now, if you're ready to gain clarity, confidence and control with your money, the.
Moneywise Doctor book is now available. Click on the link below to order your copy now and start your journey to financial freedom.
Number three, Inflation protection. Your pension is revalued with inflation while you work and uplifted with inflation when you retire. This protects your purchasing power. This is something many private pensions fail to do. 4. There's no investment risk. Markets rise, markets fall. The NHS pension does not care. Your income is backed by the government, not the stock market. That stability matters, especially later in life. 5. Ill health and death in service benefits if you become unable to work due to illness or if the worst happens and enhanced ill health, retirement may apply. So your dependents may receive a lump sum as well in debt, and eligible partners and children may receive ongoing benefits from the scheme. These protections are often far more generous than people realize. 6. Tax efficiency obviously contributions reduce your taxable income for higher rate taxpayers, thus extremely powerful and and for many NHS professionals. If you've been caught in the 60% tax trap, pension contributions are one of the few legitimate ways to actually reduce it. If you're unsure of whether you've fallen into the 60% tax trap or you wonder how to escape it if you check in the links in the description, you can get my completely free step by step guide on how to avoid the 60% tax trap. Now let's look at the real downsides of the NHS pension. Let's be honest, it's not perfect. 1. Lower take home pay now. Yes, contributions reduce the net pay. That's real and it hurts more during this cost of living pressure. But short term paying doesn't equal long term loss. If you want to check how contributing more to your pension affects your take home pay, you could visit nhsssalarycalculator.com to use it for free to check. Number two is lack of control. You don't choose what happens to your money in the NHS pension. Some people dislike that you may like to have a say in how your pension is managed. 3. Rule changes over time so retirement ages have increased. Rules can just change. The NHS pension age is increasing for many members, with the normal minimum pension age rising from 55 to 57 from April 6, 2028, especially for those who joined the scheme on or after November 4, 2021 or didn't have protection. The chain means you generally can assess most NHS pension benefits before age 57, although those with protected rights, like those with the older 1995 scheme with specific protections can keep their earlier age. Now for 2015 scheme normal pension age in the 2015 scheme is tied to your state pension age or 65, whichever is later, meaning it's kind of like rises as state pension age rises, that uncertainty puts some people off, understandably. 4. The complexity the NHS pension scheme is not intuitive and complexity often leads people to disengage due to confusion or opt out too quickly. For instance, working out how much of your annual pension allowance you have used is not a straightforward subtraction from what you have contributed. Pension growth, also known as pension impute amount, is what is used to determine how much allowance you've used and many people struggle with that calculation, so they don't know how much else they can put in. Now, why is opting out really a simple win? Here's what I've seen Repeatedly people opt out to do two things to increase take home pay, but then they forget to replace the pension or invest consistently or they underestimate the cost of recreating a guaranteed income. Now, very few people who opt out actually replace the NHS pension properly and that's where the long term damage happens. NHS pension versus Personal pension Just a quick comparison. Now, a personal pension or SIP offers flexibility. It offers growth potential, but it carries market risk and requires discipline. The NHS pension offers certainty, stability and longevity protection. For many NHS professionals, the smartest approach is not either or, but understanding how they fit together. So here are my final thoughts on this. The NHS pension is not perfect, we know that. But it's still one of the strongest foundations available to NHS professionals. So opting out should not be a careless decision you make without carefully weighing the options, pro and cons and seeking professional advice. Opting out of the NHS pension should not be a reaction to pressure or confusion and it should never, never be done without understanding the full trade off and the full consequences. Hey, if you're feeling unsure about whether the NHS pension is right for you, how it compares to personal pension like Osip, or how it all fits together into your long term plan for financial freedom or retirement, then these are exactly questions I explore in chapter eight of my book the Money Wise Doctor, which has become an Amazon bestseller on retirement planning, investing and personal finance. Hey, if you like to go deeper, you can find it on Amazon by searching for the Money Wise Doctor or use the link in the description to access the book and also get some of my free resources. If you like more clear, practical content like this for NHS professionals, make sure you subscribe to the channel now. I'd like to hear from you. Tell me in the comments, are you in the NHS pension? Do you plan to opt out? It will be interesting to hear your thoughts around this. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
The Money Wise Doctor book is now available. Click on the link below to order your copy now and start your journey to financial freedom.
