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.

Which top-up routes you have depends on your scheme and where you work. The main ones are additional pension, a set amount of extra yearly pension, and money purchase AVCs, an invested pot kept apart from your NHS pension. Buying extra "years" is closed for most people. Whether any route is worth the money turns on your age, tax and how long you will keep paying. To check that against your own NHS record, an FCA-authorised adviser will ring, free of charge, after you fill in the brief form on this page.

NHS pension top up options at a glance

NHSBSA's "Increasing your pension" page lists seven headings: additional pension, bigger lump sum purchase, early retirement reduction buy out (ERRBO), half cost added years, money purchase AVCs (MPAVC), stakeholder pensions and tax implications.

RouteWho NHSBSA says it is forWhat it does
Additional pensionActive members of the 2015 SchemeBuys an extra amount of yearly pension, by lump sum or monthly payments
MPAVCMembers who choose to pay in; run by Standard Life or PrudentialBuilds a separate invested fund, with up to 25% of its value as a tax free lump sum
ERRBO2015 Scheme members onlyBuys out the reduction that applies if you claim before normal pension age
Half cost added years1995 Section members whose membership was refunded on or before 6 April 1978 (or a later period as a self-employed practitioner)Buys that membership back
Bigger lump sum purchase1995 Section members who joined before 25 March 1972Increases the retirement lump sum

For most people reading this, the real choice is between the first two rows. Several rules below are tied to normal pension age, which in the 2015 Scheme is 65 or the State Pension age, whichever comes later.

Can I buy extra years in the NHS pension?

Mostly not any more. NHSBSA says "The option to buy full cost Added Years closed to new applications on 31 March 2009." Anyone who had started a contract before that date may complete it, according to the May 2024 1995/2008 members guide, provided they remain in the 1995 Section and have no break in membership of 12 months or more.

The route that is still described is half cost added years for refunded membership. NHSBSA says you may be able to buy membership back this way if you are in the 1995 Section and had your membership refunded on or before 6 April 1978, or in a later period when you were a self-employed practitioner. You apply in writing, giving the dates of the refunded membership and any previous surnames.

Timing matters because the 1995 and 2008 Schemes closed on 31 March 2022, and all active members moved to the 2015 Scheme from 1 April 2022 under the McCloud remedy. Which NHS pension scheme you are in and the McCloud remedy explain what that did to your record. Whether an old refund or contract can still be dealt with in your case is a records question; the adviser who calls after your enquiry here will say how to find out where you stand, free.

How additional pension is bought, and what decides the price

Additional pension is the modern equivalent of added years, but it is an amount of annual pension rather than a number of years. According to NHSBSA, you can pay by a single one-off payment or by regular monthly payments for an agreed period, and the calculator allows monthly payments over 1 to 20 years. All payments must be finished before your normal pension age.

  • Price: NHSBSA says your age affects the cost, and that the cost is the same whether you work full or part-time. A calculation is valid only until your next birthday, so if your birthday falls within six weeks, wait until it has passed.
  • Paperwork: the calculator produces a part-completed Election to purchase additional pension (AP1) form. You give it to your employer or pension officer within six weeks of the calculation, and confirmation can take up to six weeks.
  • Who it pays: you can buy it for yourself only, or so that it also provides benefits for your dependants after you die.
  • Lump sum: it does not include an automatic lump sum on retirement, but you can exchange some of the additional pension for one.
  • Size: the 2015 members guide of May 2024 set a minimum of £250 of annual pension and a maximum of £8,036 at that time, saying the limit may change each year.

Before you retire, the same guide says additional pension is revalued each year by a Treasury Order that "may either increase or decrease the value of the additional pension"; after retirement it is index linked. To see what a particular sum would buy, use NHSBSA's additional pension calculator, which is for active 2015 Scheme members.

NHS pension AVCs: the separate pot

An MPAVC works differently: the extra money is invested and builds a fund apart from your NHS pension. NHSBSA says you may take up to 25% of its value as a tax free lump sum in addition to the main scheme lump sum, and that the rest is usually used to buy an extra pension, or you may access it flexibly.

You can use either Standard Life or Prudential. Contributions come from your pay, you choose how much to pay, and you cannot pay by salary sacrifice. You may be able to change or stop the amount and switch between funds. NHSBSA states that special NHS terms have been negotiated and there are no commission charges, but also that, because the money is invested with an outside provider, the fund "cannot be guaranteed". Investments can fall as well as rise, and you could get back less than you paid in. Once a pension from the fund is in payment, the scheme guarantees it.

Stakeholder pensions are separate again. Whether AVCs are worth it looks at the general case, and pension charges shows what a pot can cost each year.

Tax on extra NHS pension payments

NHSBSA says contributions towards additional pension benefits may qualify for tax relief, and that pension contributions cannot exceed 100% of your taxable pay. How relief reaches you is in NHS pension tax relief.

Growth counts towards the annual allowance, the yearly limit on tax-free pension growth across all your pensions. Additional pension and added years bought in a tax year both count as pension growth. GOV.UK gives the allowance as £60,000 for the 2026/27 tax year, though it may be lower if you have a high income or have flexibly accessed a pension, and the NHS pension annual allowance shows how growth is measured.

One trap is specific to retirement timing. NHSBSA says HMRC will not let you take a tax free lump sum and get more tax relief by reinvesting it in a registered pension, and that this may affect you if you retire within two years of applying to buy extra pension. The scheme suggests discussing it with a financial adviser. If the two-year point could catch you, an FCA-authorised adviser will ring free of charge to talk it over once you send the short form here.

Should I buy additional NHS pension? What to weigh

There is no single answer, and what follows is what to weigh, not a recommendation. Start with what you already build: in the 2015 Scheme your main pension grows at 1/54th of pensionable earnings a year, revalued by a Treasury Order plus 1.5% while you are still a member. The guide describes additional pension's revaluation by Treasury Order only, so compare the two rather than assuming they match. The scheme can give you its own figures; estimating your NHS pension covers the main route.

  • A fixed promise or a pot. Additional pension buys a set amount of scheme pension. An MPAVC fund depends on investment returns and is not guaranteed until it is turned into a pension.
  • Your timetable. Payments must end before normal pension age. If you may want to retire earlier, taking your NHS pension early and the ERRBO row above are the starting points.
  • Your dependants. Additional pension can be bought with or without cover for them, which changes what you are paying for.
  • Your other options. Money could instead go to other pensions or savings. Whether the NHS pension is worth it sets the main scheme against those.

How a given payment compares with your own retirement date and health is individual, so the scheme's own figures matter more than any rule of thumb.

What changes for NHS Scotland and Northern Ireland members

The NHSBSA pages and guide above cover the scheme for England and Wales. NHS Scotland has its own scheme, run by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), and the NHS terms and conditions handbook tells members in Northern Ireland to use the HSC Pension Service.

The SPPA says additional pension in Scotland is bought in multiples of £250 of annual pension up to a stated maximum of £9,053, over 1 to 20 years if you pay monthly. It adds that you must be under normal pension age and not absent through ill health. Its other terms:

  • If you retire before normal pension age, your additional pension "will be reduced", and monthly payers may be reduced further because they have not finished the contract.
  • If you stop paying, you get a proportionate credit for what you paid for.
  • Dependants' cover pays 37.5% of the additional pension you would have had, once you have paid for at least 12 months.

The SPPA also tells members to seek professional financial advice before a lump sum purchase because of the annual allowance. The NHS pension in Scotland covers the wider differences.

Extra NHS pension payments: questions members ask

Can I top up my NHS pension if I am already retired?

NHSBSA says additional pension is for active members, and the calculator tells you it is only for active contributing members of the 2015 Scheme. If you have left or retired, ask NHS Pensions what is possible.

Does extra pension come with a tax free lump sum?

Additional pension does not carry an automatic lump sum, though you can exchange some of it for one. An MPAVC fund can provide up to 25% as tax free cash, according to NHSBSA.

Can part-time staff buy additional pension?

Yes. NHSBSA says the cost is the same whether you work full or part-time, and depends on your age.

Is salary sacrifice allowed for MPAVC or ERRBO payments?

Not for either, according to NHSBSA. For additional pension, ask your employer's pensions team how the deduction would work.

Can I stop paying once I have started?

In Scotland, the SPPA says you can withdraw at any time and keep a proportionate credit. For England and Wales, the contract terms you receive are the place to check.

Before you commit money

Start with the free routes: NHS Pensions or the SPPA for your own record, your employer's pensions officer for the paperwork, and MoneyHelper for general guidance. NHS pension advice sets out who can help with what. Tax, health and your other pensions can be weighed together with the NHS scheme by an FCA-authorised adviser on one free call-back, which the short form here arranges.

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