Your NHS pension is one leg of the stool. Here's how to build the other legs, in the right order.
£20,000 annual allowance. Grows free of income tax and CGT. Fully accessible any time — no age restriction.
Contributions get income tax relief (so a higher-rate taxpayer effectively gets 40% relief). Money is locked until at least age 55 (rising over time) — a genuine long-term commitment in exchange for the upfront relief.
For most doctors and dentists, a low-cost, globally diversified index tracker fund (or a small number of them) held for the long term outperforms attempts to pick individual shares or time the market, once fees are accounted for.
Platform fees, fund ongoing charges, and dealing costs all compound over decades — see our platform comparison guide for how these stack up in practice.
These aren't really alternatives — the NHS pension is a defined benefit scheme, not an investment pot you choose funds within. ISAs, SIPPs and GIAs are how you build wealth alongside it, particularly important if you're likely to hit the annual or lifetime pension limits.
Property can work well, but comes with leverage risk, illiquidity, and — since 2015/2016 — much less favourable tax treatment for personally-held buy-to-lets. See our property guide for the detail on structuring options.