100 doctors a year retire on £3.5m pension pots Simon Burns, the health minister, said: "When the NHS pension scheme routinely pays out six -figure pensions for doctors, everyone can see the system is unsustainable." The British Medical Association said the changes proposed by ministers will mean senior doctors having to pay 14.5 per cent of the salaries for their pensions, while younger staff will have to work to 68. They added the changes are unfair because the scheme was only renegotiated four years ago, and it will mean doctors paying twice as much for the same pensions as some civil servants. Under the Government's plans, the annual pension received by doctors earning £120,000 a year, which is about the average doctor's salary, will still be more than £48,000. Doctors aged 40 will have to work two extra years to qualify for that sum - until they are 62 rather than 60. Doctors presently aged 24 will have to work until they are 67 for their full pension. Mr Burns added: "The public will not understand why doctors are going on strike when they have this excellent pension deal on the table." Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "No one should be under any illusions: the planned BMA strike will be bad for patients. It will lead to operations being cancelled, appointments rescheduled and patients put through unnecessary concern. During the last NHS strikes, the union failed to live up to their agreements, which led to some patients not getting the treatment they needed. Some were left for hours unattended. I would urge all doctors thinking about going on strike to reconsider and put patients first. Dr Hamish Meldum, chairman of the BMA, said: "We know that doctors are making huge efforts to plan ahead and ensure patient safety is not affected by the day of action." A YouGov survey earlier this month revealed almost two-thirds of the public oppose moves by doctors to take industrial action over their pensions.