GPs feel increasingly under pressure, and pension rules are tempting them to retire early.

Pension reforms since 2010 have reduced the amount a worker can save in a pension fund to £1 million, a sum reached by many doctors in their mid-fifties.

NHS bosses have lobbied the government for an exemption to the caps for public sector staff, including doctors.

GP magazine Pulse reported that since April 2013, almost 3,000 GPs had claimed their pension before turning 60, with the average age of those drawing pensions for the first time dropping from age 60.4 in 2011/12 to age 58.5 in 2016/17. This does not fit well with the government's promise of 5,000 extra GPs by 2020.

Capsticks supports GPs and those in primary care on a whole range of legal and business services.

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Since April 2013, almost 3,000 GPs had claimed their pension before turning 60.