The RMC (retired members committee) represents retired BMA members from all branches of practice. While members may be retired from clinical practice, they are not retired as doctors and remain committed and active BMA members.

​Our priorities

RMC's key priorities and objectives are to:

• represent retired members in all BMA activity
• recruit and retain retired members
• support retired doctors returning to work to help with the NHS backlog
• collaborate with other branches of practice for the advancement of all members
• develop ideas and support the work around mental health and improving doctors' morale.

Our people

Chair: Peter Curry

Deputy chair: Stephen Millar

Chair’s updates

Our meetings

The RMC meets three times a year to discuss the latest issues affecting retired doctors. Only committee members may vote at meetings. However, BMA members and non-members are welcome to attend meetings via the committee visitors scheme. If you would like to attend a meeting, please email [email protected] to register your interest.

2024-25 session meeting dates 

• 26 September 2024
• 17 December 2024
• 21 March 2025

Conference

The BMA will hold its retired members conference (RMConf) on Thursday 20 March 2025. The conference will be hybrid so that members can attend online or in person at BMA House, London. The conference will be chaired by Mr Surjait Singh with the support of deputy chair, Dr Tom Kane.

Details

Date: 20 March 2025
Time: 10am (with registration from 9.30am) – 4.30pm
Venue: BMA House, London or MS Teams

Online registration will open in December 2024 and retired members will be emailed with details.

2024 Conference

The 2024 conference was chaired by Mr Surjait Singh with the support of deputy chair, Dr Tom Kane. Speakers included Professor Phil Banfield, BMA council chair, Professor Ian Gilmore, BMA president and a panel of speakers for an interactive discussion on the theme 'retirement - another step in your career'. In the afternoon conference debated motions. A recording of the day will be shared here shortly.

Read the 2024 conference resolutions.

Read the 2024 conference election results.

2023 Conference 

2023 was the first year of a hybrid retired members conference, allowing members to meet face to face and participate online. The conference was chaired by Dr Stephen Millar, in his final year in that role and he was supported by deputy chair, Mr Surjait Singh.

The theme was ‘productive and healthy ageing’ with keynote speaker Professor Anthony Woolf, Director, Bone and Joint Research Group, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust. Professor Woolf was joined by other speakers, including Professor Phil Banfield, BMA council chair, Professor Martin McKee CBE, BMA president and Dr Trudi Edginton, Clinical Psychologist and Reader in Psychology at City University of London.

At the conference, Surjait Singh and Tom Kane were elected unopposed as the new conference chair and deputy chair respectively.

Read the 2023 conference report

Regional meetings

Smaller regional meetings take place during the year. The programme consists of a small number of speakers and debates on relevant issues.

Retired members who would like to attend these meetings can contact their regional or national office to find out when a meeting is being arranged and to ensure they are on the list.

Any retired members who would like to put themselves forward as a volunteer to assist with the organisation of a meeting, should send their name, region and other relevant details to [email protected]. Please note, no expenses are paid for volunteering.

How to join

There are many advantages to becoming involved in our committees. You can actively influence BMA policy-making and negotiations, represent your colleagues' voices and develop your leadership skills. 

Each committee has a few routes to becoming an elected member. In the case of the RMC, this is:

The election section below is kept up to date with details about any running elections, so make sure you keep checking it throughout the year.  

Elections

Election for retired members committee

• Every year, the retired members conference elects 3 members to the retired members committee for a two-year term.
• A gender constraint applies, with no more than two-thirds of the 6 elected being from any one gender.
• Full details will be posted here and emailed in the run up to the election.

Election for retired member ARM seats

• Every year, the retired members conference elects representatives to the Representative Body at the Annual Representative Meeting (ARM).
• Retired members nominate themselves online whether or not they are attending the conference, but only conference members are entitled to vote.
• The chair and the deputy chair of the conference, and the chair and deputy chair of retired members committee, are each allocated a seat on the Representative Body at the ARM without an election being held for this purpose.
• Full details will be posted here and emailed in the run up to the election.

Election for retired members conference, chair and deputy chair

• Biennially, the retired members conference elects a chair and deputy chair for a two-year term. The next election will take place in 2025.
• Nominations and voting take place online and full details will be posted here and emailed in the run up to the election.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or are interested in finding out more about the work of the RMC, please email [email protected].