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Public-sector pension schemes have their own rules on pension age, lump sums, contributions and death benefits. These guides explain each scheme in its own terms, including the separate Scottish schemes where they apply.
Talk to an adviser before you choose →The armed forces pension increase from 6 April 2026 is 3.8% for pensions that began before 7 April 2025, and a part-year rise for newer ones.
Which armed forces pension am I on? The MOD ties it to when you joined: AFPS 75 before 6 April 2005, AFPS 05 until 31 March 2015, AFPS 15 after.
Police pension forfeiture is tightly defined: the 2015 regulations tie it to a conviction for a "relevant offence", or to money the officer owes.
Can you cash in a government pension? Rarely in one go: unfunded schemes block transfers to a pot, though funded ones allow them and lump sum routes exist.
Can you increase your USS pension contributions? Yes: pay extra into the Investment Builder through My USS, regularly or as a one-off.
Can I top up my police pension? Yes: serving officers in the 2015 scheme can buy added pension up to a yearly limit, or save separately.
Civil service pension rates for members run from 4.6% to 8.05% of pensionable earnings in 2026/27, depending on which of four pay bands you fall into.
What happens to your civil service pension if you leave comes down to qualifying service: two years or more and it stays in the scheme as a preserved pensi…
A Civil Service pension lump sum is tax-free within HMRC limits. Only classic and classic plus pay one automatically, but you can swap pension for cash.
No Civil Service pension scheme is best for everyone: new joiners choose alpha, a career average pension, or partnership, an invested pot.
Yes, you can claim your civil service pension and still work, but if a Civil Service employer pays you, abatement can reduce the pension.
Deferring your Teachers' Pension after you stop teaching brings back-pay, not a bigger pension; only teaching on past pension age can add an uplift.
Does a USS pension increase with inflation? Yes: the guaranteed part rises each April in line with CPI, with a cap on benefits built up since October 2011.
Armed forces pension and Universal Credit: a service pension counts in full as income, while war pension and compensation payments are ignored.
The firefighters pension increase for 2026 is 3.8% from 6 April 2026, the Treasury's yearly rise on pensions already being paid.
The firefighters pension scheme 1992 is final salary, payable from 50 or 55; the 2015 scheme is career average with a normal pension age of 60.
A gap in teaching service rarely costs you the Teachers' Pension, but its length changes how your earlier pension is treated when you return.
To qualify for a Teachers' Pension you need either two years' service since 5 April 1988 or five years' pensionable service from any period.
For NHS pension years of service, two years' qualifying membership lets you keep a pension in the scheme; with less, you can usually take a refund instead.
NHS pension on maternity leave: if you are an active member when leave starts, membership continues and your contributions follow the pay you receive.
There is no single NHS pension figure: it depends on your section, pay and years of service, and your annual NHSBSA statement gives the estimate.
A Teachers' Pension calculator adds two parts: 1/57th of each career average year's pay, revalued, plus any final salary years at 1/80th or 1/60th.
How much USS pension you will get depends on your salary, how long you pay in and when you retire; the scheme builds it in two parts.
How much army pension you get depends on your scheme: for service since 2015 it is 1/47th of each year's pensionable earnings, revalued each year.
How much Civil Service pension you get depends on your section: alpha, nuvos, premium, classic plus and classic each use a different formula.
An NHS pension increase is applied each April and follows CPI to the previous September: pensions in payment rose 3.8% from 6 April 2026.
Civil service pension employer contributions are 28.97% of pensionable earnings in every pay band from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027.
How much police pension you get depends on your pay in each year of service, not your final rank: in the 2015 scheme, 1/55.3 of pensionable earnings is add…
To opt out of the NHS pension, you and your employer both complete form SD502; a refund of contributions is possible only under two years' membership.
NHS pension top up options: active members can buy additional pension or pay AVCs into a separate pot. Whether it pays depends on your age and plans.
How is a local government pension calculated? Each year since April 2014 adds 1/49th of your pay to your pension, and older service uses final pay.
Civil service ill health retirement turns on the scheme's medical adviser's opinion. It pays one of two tiers, depending on whether you can do any work.
A police pension is a guaranteed public service pension, rising with CPI once paid, that the Home Office ranks among the UK's most valuable.
Yes, a police pension is taxable income and is taxed before it reaches you. The commuted lump sum is tax-free up to the lump sum allowance.
Whether the Local Government Pension Scheme is any good starts here: each year adds 1/49th of pay, and employers meet roughly three quarters of costs on av…
The NHS pension is auto enrolment, not salary sacrifice: eligible staff are enrolled automatically, and contributions come out of pay before tax.
Is the NHS pension worth it? The scheme lists what opting out gives up: a guaranteed pension for life, the employer's share, death and ill health cover.
Is the Teachers' Pension good? Members get a career average pension with ill-health and death cover, pay 7.4% to 12% of salary in 2026/27, and employers ad…
Is the USS pension good? Each year adds a guaranteed pension of 1/75 of salary plus cash of three times it; pay above £74,208 (2026/27) goes into a pot.
Is the Civil Service pension good? Alpha adds 2.32% of each year's pensionable earnings to a pension paid from public funds, not an invested pot.
Local government pension scheme additional voluntary contributions let LGPS members pay extra into an invested pot, with tax relief, on top of their pension.
Local Government Pension Scheme contribution rates for 2026/27 in England and Wales run from 5.5% to 12.5% of pensionable pay, set by nine pay bands.
Local government pension scheme early retirement reductions depend on how many years before your Normal Pension Age you start your pension: in England and…
Local government pension scheme employer contributions vary: an actuary sets each employer's rate, and on average employers meet three quarters of the cost.
LGPS ill health retirement can pay your pension straight away at any age. Your employer picks one of three tiers after an independent medical opinion.
The Local Government Pension Scheme normal pension age is your State Pension age, never below 65, for pension built from April 2014. Older service usually…
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) explained: a career average pension for council and related staff, built at 1/49th of pay a year, on national ru…
The NHS pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose 1995/2008 or 2015 Scheme benefits for their service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.
The civil service pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose legacy or alpha benefits for service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.
Since 1 April 2024 the NHS employer pension contribution has been 23.7% of pensionable pay, or 23.78% with the administration levy, but NHS organisations p…
NHS ill health retirement pays your pension early when illness ends your job, and the Tier 2 top-up is worked out differently in the older sections and the…
Your NHS pension age depends on your section: 60 in the 1995 Section, 65 in the 2008 Section, and State Pension age (at least 65) in the 2015 Scheme.
The NHS pension annual allowance tests how much your NHS benefits grow in a tax year, not what you pay in. The limit is £60,000 in 2026/27, says GOV.UK.
In 2026/27 the NHS pension rates in England and Wales are 5.2% to 12.5%, with your tier chosen by actual pensionable pay, not full-time salary.
The NHS pension in Scotland is its own scheme, administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA). NHS staff in Wales share the England and Wales s…
NHS pension vs civil service: each scheme's own guide prints 1/54th a year for the NHS 2015 Scheme and 2.32% a year for civil service alpha.
The police pension in Scotland is run by SPPA under Scottish rules: 2015 members currently pay a flat 13.7%, and the McCloud remedy has its own process.
Police pension commutation factors set how much lump sum you get for each £1 of yearly pension you give up, and they were cut in May 2026.
Police pension contributions in England and Wales are 12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22% of pensionable pay from 1 April 2026, set by a three-tier table.
A police pension increase follows CPI each April: 3.8% from 6 April 2026 for pensions in payment for a full year, with the next rise set the same way.
The police pension remedy lets eligible officers choose, for service from 1 April 2015 until 31 March 2022, between old-scheme and 2015-scheme benefits.
You can usually take an NHS pension from 55, or from 50 in some 1995 Section cases, but it is cut for every year before your normal pension age.
Can I take my NHS pension and still work? Yes, through partial retirement or retire and return, each with its own conditions on pay, breaks and abatement.
Taking a Teachers' Pension early is possible from 55 if you leave service (57 for later joiners from April 2028), with a cut set by age and section.
Civil service early retirement means claiming before your pension age, and the pension is cut; the size depends on your section and age.
The Teachers' Pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose legacy or career average benefits for service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.
The Teachers' Pension annual increase was 3.8% from 6 April 2026 for pensions in payment; serving teachers' pensions were revalued by 5.4%.
Teachers' Pension rates for 2026/27 are 7.4% to 12% of pay in England and Wales; DfE has proposed cutting five of the six rates from April 2027.
The teachers pension in Scotland is its own scheme, handled by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), so rates, ages and rules differ from England and…
A teachers' pension AVC is one way to top up; Additional Pension is the other main route, and the two work very differently.
To top up a Civil Service pension, alpha members can buy added pension or an effective pension age; any member can pay AVCs, partnership members more.
In 2026/27 USS says members pay 6.1% of salary and employers 14.5%, with a 20% contribution on pay above £74,208 going into a savings pot.
USS pension fund performance to March 2026: the Growth Fund beat its one-year target but trailed over five years; the DB fund beat its liabilities over thr…
Teachers' pension age is 60 or 65 for final salary benefits and State Pension age for career average, with payment possible from 55.
Leave after the LGPS two-year qualifying period and your local government pension stays deferred in the scheme; leave sooner and a refund is usual.
What happens to your NHS pension if you leave? With two or more years' membership you can leave it in the scheme as a deferred pension.
NHS pension death benefits can include a lump sum and pensions for a partner and children; what is paid depends on the member's section and status.
Armed forces pension death benefits depend on your scheme: AFPS 75, 05 and 15 pay a lump sum, a survivor's pension, or both to eligible family.
A bridging pension is a higher pension from a workplace scheme paid until State Pension age, then cut back when the State Pension starts.
When can you take your USS pension? From 55 (57 for some members from 2028), and in full at Normal Pension Age, which is 66 at present.
Teachers' pension advice on the rules is free from the scheme and MoneyHelper; unions cannot advise by law, so a recommendation needs a regulated adviser.
Which NHS pension scheme am I in? Since 1 April 2022 everyone paying in is in the 2015 Scheme; where older service sits depends on the date you joined.
NHS pension eligibility: most NHS employees aged 16 to 75 can join, as can GPs, dentists, locums and staff of some other employers granted access.
If your NHS pension has reduced, check four things: your tax code, abatement after going back to NHS work, a recovered overpayment and any divorce order.
Why has my civil service pension gone down? A new tax code is one cause; a recalculation, a repaid overpayment or a court order are others.
Three short questions, no financial details to start. One FCA-authorised adviser firm can talk through your pension or equity release questions and explain your options, and how it is paid. Free to enquire, no obligation.