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.
That joining date is only the first clue, because many people hold pension in more than one scheme, and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is clear that the schemes work differently. Below: how the 1975, 2005 and 2015 schemes compare, what the McCloud remedy added, and where to confirm your own position. Should you prefer to talk your service history through with someone who can see your other pensions as well, put your joining and leaving dates into the form on this page. Advisers at an FCA-authorised firm then phone you back, at no charge for the enquiry.
Start with the date you joined
GOV.UK's guidance, Understanding your armed forces pension, lists three main schemes: the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75), 2005 (AFPS 05) and 2015 (AFPS 15). It places you by the date you joined, and the table sets out what it says for Regular service.
| You joined the armed forces | Scheme you entered |
|---|---|
| Between 1 April 1975 and 5 April 2005 | AFPS 75 |
| Between 6 April 2005 and 31 March 2015 | AFPS 05 |
| On or after 1 April 2015 | AFPS 15 |
Source: GOV.UK, Understanding your armed forces pension (first published 12 September 2024), read 20 October 2026.
The MOD's September 2026 factsheet on multiple schemes uses the same boundaries, and adds that someone who moved over from AFPS 75 to AFPS 05 counts as AFPS 05. It also lists separate reserve schemes, FTRS 97, RFPS 05 and NRPS 11, placed by the date of the commitment. This page concentrates on the three Regular schemes.
Why one joining date does not give the whole picture
Two moves explain why someone who joined in, say, 2003 can hold benefits in several schemes.
- 1 April 2015. AFPS 15 opened. The Armed Forces (Transitional Provisions) Pensions Regulations 2015 kept a member of AFPS 75 or AFPS 05 in the old scheme if, broadly, they were in service on 31 March 2012 and 31 March 2015 and would reach age 55 on or before 1 April 2022: in other words, if they were 45 or over on 1 April 2012. Everyone else moved across. GOV.UK puts it as "45 or over on 1 April 2012" and the MOD's 2020 booklets as "more than ten years to serve to reach age 55"; both describe that one test.
- 1 April 2022. The MOD's May 2023 booklet says all members of the Armed Forces moved into AFPS 15 on that date, and that from then members can only accrue pension in AFPS 15.
Benefits earned before a move do not vanish. The MOD's 2026 factsheets say benefits already earned under earlier schemes are retained, as "protected benefits" you may hold alongside AFPS 15. One service history can therefore produce an AFPS 75 slice, an AFPS 05 slice and an AFPS 15 slice, each calculated under its own rules and each possibly payable at a different age.
AFPS 75, AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 side by side
The table draws on sources of different ages, and each cell carries a letter for where it comes from. The AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 booklets are dated July 2020, before the 2022 move into AFPS 15 and the remedy, so cells marked A or B show how the schemes were described in 2020, and your own statement takes precedence. It describes each scheme, not your entitlement.
| AFPS 75 | AFPS 05 | AFPS 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the pension is built | On final rank and length of reckonable service for the vast majority; a full pension can reach 48.5% of representative pay (A) | Final salary: 1/70th of final pensionable earnings for each year of reckonable service, with at most 40 years counting (B) | Career average: 1/47th of each year's pensionable earnings is added to a pot that increases each year, with no maximum number of years (C) |
| Service that counts | Paid service after age 18 (21 for officers) (G) | All paid service (G) | All paid service (G) |
| Immediate pension on leaving | Before 55 with at least 16 years as an officer or 22 as another rank; at 55 or over with 34 or 37 years for a full career pension (A) | On leaving at 55 (normal pension age) or over (B) | On leaving at 60 (normal pension age) or over (C, L) |
| Deferred pension for an earlier leaver | 60 for service before 6 April 2006; 65 for service from that date (W, G) | 65; GOV.UK adds 55 at a reduced rate (B, G) | State Pension age, or 65 if higher; from 55 at a reduced rate (L, C, G) |
| Lump sum | Automatic, tax-free, 3 times the pension (G) | Automatic, tax-free, 3 times the pension (G) | None automatic; up to 25% can be commuted at a rate of 12 to 1 (C) |
| Early Departure Payment | Not among the schemes the factsheet names (F) | Yes, at age 40 and 18 years as a Regular (B, F) | Yes, at age 40 and 20 years as a Regular (C, F) |
| Pension for an unmarried partner | No; GOV.UK says only AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 provide one (G) | Yes, where scheme conditions are met (F) | Yes, where scheme conditions are met (F) |
Key: A = MOD, AFPS 75 Your Pension Scheme Explained (July 2020). B = MOD, AFPS 05 Your Pension Scheme Explained (July 2020). C = MOD, AFPS 15 Your Pension Scheme Explained (May 2023). F = MOD, Pension Awareness Week factsheets (September 2026). G = GOV.UK, Understanding your armed forces pension (12 September 2024). L = Public Service Pensions Act 2013, section 10. W = Army Pensions Warrant 2010, rule D.6. All read 20 October 2026.
The two pension-age rows answer a common confusion. GOV.UK's one-line summaries, 65 for AFPS 05 and State Pension age for AFPS 15, each with 55 at a reduced rate, describe someone who leaves before normal pension age. For AFPS 15 the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 fixes the normal pension age for the armed forces at 60 and the deferred pension age at State Pension age, or 65 if higher; how much army pension you get sets this out with the amounts. For AFPS 75, the scheme rule (rule D.6 of the 2010 Army Pensions Warrant, which the Navy and RAF instruments substantially mirror) splits the deferred pension at 6 April 2006: service before that date is paid at 60, service on or after it at 65. GOV.UK's "up to and including 5 April 2006" matches; one line of the 2020 booklet says "up to and including 6th April 2006", a day out, though the same booklet elsewhere says "before 6th April 2006". Armed forces pension age covers claiming. Members pay 0% in contributions, GOV.UK adds, and the scheme is unfunded.
The wider idea of a pension tied to final earnings, which AFPS 05 follows, is explained in our final salary pension guide.
Early Departure Payments: which scheme has one
The "20/40" people ask about is an EDP condition. In the MOD's words the Early Departure Payment (EDP) is "entirely separate to any pension" you may be entitled to. It goes to eligible Regular personnel who leave before pension age after meeting an age and service point, and the MOD's 2026 factsheet names AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 as the schemes with EDP arrangements.
- AFPS 15: age 40 or over, but before 60, with at least 20 years as a Regular: the 20/40 point.
- AFPS 05: age 40 or over, but before 55, with at least 18 years as a Regular: the 18/40 point.
Under AFPS 15 the payment is a tax-free lump sum plus a taxable monthly income that stops at State Pension age, when the deferred pension becomes payable. The amounts are on the army pension amounts page. With service in both schemes, look at the whole package, the MOD advises, not one headline figure. If a leaving date sits close to an EDP point, you can raise it through the form on this page: give your service dates, and an FCA-authorised firm rings you to discuss them.
The McCloud remedy and the choice it created
The protection test above is why the remedy exists. In the MOD's September 2026 remedy factsheet, "the courts found this difference in treatment amounted to unlawful age discrimination": older members kept their legacy scheme while younger ones moved. For eligible service in the remedy period, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, affected members get a choice of benefits between their relevant legacy scheme and AFPS 15. Nobody resumes building legacy-scheme pension after March 2022, and the choice affects only the remedy-period benefits; it does not turn all of your service into one scheme.
Broadly, it reaches people serving before 1 April 2012 who also had eligible service between 2015 and 2022, but exact eligibility depends on your history, so use your official remedy information rather than assume. Members whose relevant benefits were in payment or became payable before the remedy was implemented on 1 October 2023 are generally immediate-choice members; for many active and deferred members the choice is made when benefits become payable, through the Deferred Choice Underpin. A personalised Remediable Service Statement compares the options, and the highest pension is not always the whole answer, since options can also change lump sums and survivor benefits. The armed forces pension remedy covers the choice in detail.
How to find out which scheme you are in
Start with paperwork you may already hold. All three MOD booklets point to your Annual Benefits Information Statement, which you should receive shortly after your birthday, or your JPA record, to confirm which scheme you are in. The statement is a snapshot of accrued pension at the date it was produced, useful for understanding your current position and scheme membership, and not a forecast of a guaranteed retirement figure.
- Gather the dates. Your date of joining and the type of service (Regular or reserve) are the two things to check first.
- Read the statement. If you took part in the remedy, a Remediable Service Statement is a separate document, covers the options for 2015 to 2022 only, and is not a tax statement.
- Ask the administrator if it is unclear. GOV.UK gives 0800 085 3600 (overseas +44 141 224 3600) for the Ministry of Defence if your pension is not yet in payment, and Equiniti Paymaster on 0345 121 2514 if it is. For remedy questions, contact Defence Business Services.
MoneyHelper offers free and impartial information. Pension Wise appointments, GOV.UK says, exclude final salary and career average schemes, the two types AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 belong to. Transfers out are restricted because the AFPS is an unfunded public service defined benefit scheme, so the usual advice on moving a pension does not map straight on, and how to transfer a pension covers the general rules. For a medical discharge or ill health, see ill health retirement and armed forces disability and medical discharge pensions. Dependants' rights are on armed forces pension death benefits, and getting a statement or forecast goes through the requests step by step.
Questions about the armed forces pension schemes
What is the difference between armed forces pension 05 and 15?
AFPS 05 is described by the MOD as a final salary scheme, with the pension based on earnings when you leave. AFPS 15 builds a career average pension, with a slice added for each year. The lump sum, the pension age and the Early Departure Payment point also differ, as the table above shows.
What does 20/40 mean for an armed forces pension?
It is the AFPS 15 Early Departure Payment point: age 40 or over, but before 60, with at least 20 years' service as a Regular. The AFPS 05 equivalent is 18/40.
Which army pension scheme am I in if I joined after 2015?
Joining on or after 1 April 2015 means AFPS 15, according to GOV.UK. The MOD adds that from 1 April 2022 every serving member builds future pension there, so AFPS 15 is the one for new service whatever your earlier history.
Did the 2015 change take away pension I had already built up?
No. The MOD's September 2026 factsheet says benefits earned under earlier schemes are retained, and its 2020 AFPS 05 booklet adds that they remain payable at the time they were expected to be paid.
If your history spans several schemes, gather your latest statement and any forecast before doing anything else. Once you have them, our enquiry form lets you summarise the position, and an FCA-authorised adviser firm calls to discuss timing and the rest of your income.
Sources: GOV.UK, Understanding your armed forces pension; GOV.UK, Armed forces pensions; GOV.UK, Personal pensions: get help; the Ministry of Defence's AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 booklets (July 2020), AFPS 15 booklet (May 2023) and September 2026 Pension Awareness Week factsheets, published on GOV.UK; the Army Pensions Warrant 2010 (GOV.UK); the Armed Forces (Transitional Provisions) Pensions Regulations 2015 and Public Service Pensions Act 2013, section 10 (legislation.gov.uk). Read 20 October 2026.