Preparing for retirement

As you approach the later stages of your career, it is crucial to make a retirement plan, to help you to secure financial stability and personal fulfilment for your future. Early retirement planning allows for more flexibility in deciding how and when to reduce your workload, and for you to fully explore the options available to you. These could include taking on part-time work, taking partial retirement, taking 24-hour retirement and returning, taking on different roles, or retiring entirely. You can find out more about the various options in relation to your pension as well as other helpful advice on retirement planning by joining the Wesleyan's retirement club.

• Your financial needs in retirement; estimate how much you will need post-retirement (e.g. expenses such as housing and travel and your income requirements etc.) and consider possible options for diversifying your income streams (e.g. pensions, investments, part-time work etc.). You should also consider whether you may wish to relocate or change homes during your retirement or if you plan to remain in your current home.
• How your pension works given the different NHS schemes and changes in contributions, benefits and retirement age, especially in the context of an ever-evolving healthcare system; consider how taking up different employment options as you approach retirement may affect your pension benefit. For more information on pensions, join the Wesleyan's retirement club.
• Your professional and personal goals, bearing in mind that these may change with time. You may wish to take on new roles, explore new opportunities or simply spend more time doing the things you love. This may also mean coming to realise that you want to stop or change aspects of your current practice. Find out about ways to diversify your career.
• Lifestyle planning; consider what activities and hobbies you may wish to take up or continue in your retirement for a fulfilling life, as well as the income you will need to both maintain your current lifestyle and to pursue these new activities.
• The impact of workload and stress and the risk of burnout; it can be difficult to know the best time to step away, especially as many GPs love their work and feel a sense of duty and purpose in carrying on. However, maintaining your own mental and physical health in the lead up and into your retirement is critical, especially as you may wish to take on or scale up your involvement in other activities.
• The financial complexities of being a partner in a practice; GPs who are partners and own a share of the practice property will need a clear succession plan in place regarding the practice ownership and will have to manage their share in the practice whilst also planning for their retirement. This can be especially challenging - you may need to sell your share of the property or transfer ownership to other partners or a new GP.
• Succession planning; for those who run/own their own practice, finding a suitable successor or transitioning the business can be quite overwhelming. Make sure you give yourself enough time to transition responsibilities to the new owners or colleagues.
• Maintaining social connections; the shift from being a busy GP to no longer working can be difficult to navigate. You may feel that you have lots more time or even not enough, depending on your lifestyle and social life. Whether you feel time-rich or poor, it’s important to try to maintain social connections for your positive wellbeing and to avoid feeling isolated. This could be through your family and friends, your hobbies and interests, by volunteering or taking part in local community groups or initiatives.

As early as possible. Early planning is key to ensure a smooth transition and in giving you peace of mind to allow you to focus on your current work with less stress. Knowing you have a well thought out plan will give you security, as well as the space and time for you to rest, reflect and consider what you would like your retirement to look like.

• In your 30s, you should review your pension details, possibly begin saving for additional pensions and start to think about your desired retirement lifestyle.
• In your 40s, you should seek financial advice and start to explore the various options available to you (e.g. taking on part-time work, taking partial retirement, taking 24-hour retirement and returning, taking on different roles, or retiring entirely).
• In your 50s, you should make decisions about whether you wish to continue working the same or reduced hours and seek professional help to finalise the details of your retirement plan.

Wesleyan's retirement club can help you with your retirement planning at every stage.

There are a number of different pathways to fully retiring, with no one preferred route - how you choose to retire and the length of time over which you do so, is for you to decide. What works best for you, may not work well for someone else and will depend on many different factors as outlined above, both personal and professional, so it's important to carefully consider the next phase of your career, with plenty of time.

Start to reflect on how you may like to retire well in advance of when you intend to make a change, so as to give yourself enough time to think through and discuss with others all of the options available to you. You should then gradually make the transition over a period of time.

Possible options include:

• Taking part-time work
• Taking partial retirement (also known as 'draw down')
• Taking 24 hour retirement and returning to work (also known as 'retire and return')
• Retiring from clinical work and staying on the national medical performers list
• Fully retiring from all roles and coming off the national medical performers list

Not all of these options will necessarily appeal or be feasible given your own personal circumstances but it's important to take the time to consider the options available to you and what may work for you at differing points in your retirement journey.

Some GPs will choose to continue working, either part-time or as a locum, after taking retirement in order to maintain a link to the profession and to earn additional income whilst reducing their workload. This is an option to explore if you enjoy practicing but want more flexibility. Our appraisal deep dive includes helpful advice for those undertaking low volumes of clinical work, as well as important information relating to performers lists and revalidation requirements.

You can find out more about the various options in relation to your pension by joining the Wesleyan's retirement club.

Unsurprisingly there are a multitude of practical steps to take when approaching your retirement. Below are some of the key things to have on your 'to do' list.

1. Take steps to gradually reduce your workload in the years leading up to your retirement and manage the associated logistics and practical requirements of making a change in your practice.
2. Speak to your appraiser or appraisal team about your retirement plans. They will talk through all your available options, giving you the space to reflect fully and help you develop a clear plan.
3. Manage the potential sale of your share of a practice property or the transfer of ownership to other partners or a new GP (if applicable).
4. Prepare your practice for a new GP or partner coming on board.
5. Make a succession plan for the ownership of your practice (for GPs who run or own their own practice).
6. Spend time looking into the process of coming off the performers list, relinquishing your licence to practise and giving up or changing your registration with the GMC and take the appropriate steps to make these changes (in accordance with how you plan to transition to retirement). You should take careful consideration when making these changes and seek advice from your responsible officer before doing so. You will also need a licence to practise if providing medical services (this can include jobs where there is no direct patient contact) so be sure to check the GMC guidelines. Find out more about this, giving up your registration with the GMC or just your licence to practise.
7. Hand over your patient list, ensuring continuity of care.
8. Make a financial plan which includes consideration of how taking up different employment options may affect your pension benefits.
9. Various legal considerations e.g. reviewing wills, potentially setting up a power of attorney, selling your share of a practice property or transferring it to new ownership.

Understandably, many GPs will find transitioning from a long medical career to retirement an emotional change. The loss of daily contact with patients and the structured workday routine can have an impact. For many GPs, their profession is a significant part of their identity, and some describe feeling a loss of that identity and sense of purpose in their retirement.

For this reason, it's important to reflect on what your retirement might mean for your sense of self and to try to mentally prepare for this shift beforehand. Gradually reducing your clinical contact over time can help with this. Establishing new daily habits to provide a routine as you transition into your retirement may also ease your adjustment. Consider possible ways in which you will feel a continued sense of purpose.

This may be through spending more time in roles or activities that you already take part in. Alternatively, you may wish to take up entirely new hobbies, interests or opportunities. These could be linked to the profession or completely outside of general practice and the healthcare sector; either way, there are myriad possible roles and opportunities to explore.

For example, you may feel that it's important to you to continue to contribute to general practice or the healthcare sector and to keep up with clinical or policy changes in your retirement. Some ways you could do this, include:

• Becoming an RCGP mentor
• Getting involved in healthcare policy
• Joining one of our member communities, networks or special interest groups
• Medical education
• Becoming an appraiser
• Medical writing

Another option, if you haven’t already done so, is to explore applying for RCGP fellowship. This is a great opportunity to reflect back on your career to date, take pride in your contributions to the profession and achieve a significant professional milestone.

You may decide that you'd like to stay involved with the medical community to maintain your connections for either (or both) professional and social reasons. If so, consider which professional organisations you'd like to remain a part of and explore what their provision is for retired GPs. Our faculties offer a vital connection to your professional home through events, courses and talks, and will remain by your side as you approach and navigate your retirement.

One thing to remember is that speaking to others in the lead up to and during your transition to retirement may be helpful as a source of support and advice. A lot of what you may be feeling at this time will be similar to the experiences of your colleagues and peers especially. We also have a range of helpful information relating to your wellbeing.

After being in practise for a number of years, there will come a time when you wish to reduce your clinical practice. At this time, you may wish to take up other roles within the profession, which may or may not require you to have a licence to practise. You will need a licence to practise if providing medical services (and this can include jobs where there is no direct patient contact). Be sure to check the GMC guidelines and seek advice from your current responsible officer on this.

There are a wide range of possible roles and opportunities to explore at this important juncture in your career. A possible avenue to explore is becoming a GP with an extended role. You can also find out about other ways to diversify your career through our GP+ Careers podcast.

You can find our helpful advice for those undertaking low volumes of clinical work as part of our appraisal deep dive, which also includes other important information relating to performers lists and revalidation requirements.

There is also some further guidance from NHS England for GPs who undertake a low volume of clinical work, which includes information on appraisals and the form to complete if you are undertaking less than forty sessions a year.

The national GP retention scheme for where you live may be applicable depending on your circumstances, so these are also worth exploring.

Your wellbeing should always be your top priority. If you are considering taking a career break from general practice or you are returning to practise in the UK after a period away, the BMA have a web page dedicated to providing career break advice for GPs.

It is possible to enter or return to NHS general practice later in your career or after a period of retirement. You can find further information on the process for returning to general practice across the four nations. All applicants to returner programmes must be on the GMC's GP Register.

In England, if you're considering leaving general practice, support is available through the national GP Retention scheme. The scheme is a package of financial and educational support to help doctors, in England, who might otherwise leave the profession, remain in clinical general practice.

The scheme is open to doctors who meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. Where a doctor is seriously considering leaving or has left general practice (but is still on the national medical performers list) due to:
   1. personal reasons – such as caring responsibilities for family members (children or adults) or personal health reasons OR
   2. approaching retirement OR
   3. requiring greater flexibility in order to undertake other work either within or outside of general practice
2. And when a regular part-time role does not meet the doctor’s need for flexibility, for example the requirement for short clinics or annualised hours.

Doctors must hold full registration and license to practise with the GMC and be on the national medical performers list. Doctors applying for the scheme must be in good standing with the GMC, without GMC conditions or undertakings, except those relating solely to health matters.

For those in Scotland, the ScotGP Retain and Sustain (ScotGPRS) scheme offers financial and educational support to help GPs who are considering leaving (or those who have already left but remain on the performers list) remain in clinical practice by providing a flexible and supportive working environment. Retained GPs can work between two to four sessions per week, and may be permitted to undertake up to two additional sessions per week of GP locum work or out-of-hours work. The maximum duration of the programme is up to five years.

In Wales, there is the GP Retainer scheme which is a package of support to help GPs stay in practise, designed for those approaching retirement or who need greater flexibility. It offers one to four sessions per week with additional support for mentoring and CPD. Individuals can be on the scheme for up to five years.

The Northern Ireland GP Retention scheme is a programme of financial and educational support for those considering leaving or reducing their hours due to caring responsibilities, approaching retirement or needing more flexibility. GPs on the scheme can work between two to four sessions per week, for up to a maximum of five years.

If after exploring the available retention programmes, you still feel you would like to leave the profession, ensure you've reviewed how this would affect your pension and future benefits and give this careful consideration; this is especially the case if you decide you want to leave the NHS before the normal retirement age for your pension scheme.