Select the pension scheme that you are part of to find out more information.
What you need to know
It is important that you have read and understood JSP 905 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 and Early Departure Payments Scheme 2015 before proceeding.
All serving members of the Regular Armed Forces and Reserve Forces who joined from 1 April 2015 are active members of Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15).
Following legal challenges, in December 2018 the Court of Appeal found that transitional protection arrangements applied to the judicial and firefighters pension schemes gave rise to unlawful discrimination as transitional protection was only offered to older scheme members. In July 2019, the government confirmed that they would remove discrimination in those schemes by introducing a remedy period.
As part of the remedy, serving members in legacy pension schemes who were previously offered transitional protection, moved to the AFPS 15 scheme on 1 April 22. Any benefits built up in legacy schemes are protected, and members will receive benefits earned under legacy schemes at the same time as they originally expected to receive them.
When an Armed Forces pension becomes payable, members will be offered the choice of which scheme benefits they wish to receive (legacy scheme or the reformed 2015 scheme) for the remedy period 1st April 2015 – 31st March 2022. More information can be found on Defence Connect at Group: 2015 Remedy (McCloud).
Your AFPS 15 pension starts accruing from your first day of paid service. You will be eligible to receive the pension once you have completed at least two years of qualifying service.
AFPS 15 pensions are calculated using a system called Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE). Every scheme year (1 April to 31 March), the MOD adds 1/47th of your annual pensionable earnings into your CARE ‘pension pot’.
Each year the pension already in your pension pot carries forward into the next year and is increased to take account of inflation. This process continues each year until you leave the Armed Forces. The total value of your CARE ‘pension pot’ dictates what you would receive as an annual pension if you left Service at that time.
What you need to do
Immediate pension
To claim an immediate pension, between 6 and 9 months before you leave you should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 12 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should then complete AFPS Form 1 and send a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
Deferred pension
For a deferred pension, this is not paid automatically. You should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 14 and sending a signed copy by post to : Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should claim your pension from DBS Veterans UK approximately 3 to 6 months before it is due to come into payment, by completing AFPS Form 8 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 335, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms
Early Departure Payment
If you are eligible for an Early Departure Payment, you can claim:
- At 40 years old or older (but before age 60) after at least 20 years of Regular Service
- By completing AFPS Form 1 which can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
What you need to know
It is important that you have read and understood JSP 764 The Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 05) before proceeding.
If you enlisted or were commissioned after 6 April 2005 or accepted an offer to transfer from AFPS 75, you would have joined the AFPS 05. This scheme closed to new members on 31 March 2015, when it was replaced by AFPS 15. As a result of the 2015 Remedy, on 1 April 22 all serving members who were originally offered Transitional Protection, transferred to the AFPS 15.
Any benefits built up in the AFPS 05 legacy scheme are protected, and you will receive benefits earned under the scheme at the same time as you originally expected to receive them.
When an Armed Forces pension becomes payable, you will be offered the choice of which scheme benefits they wish to receive (the 05 scheme or the reformed 15 scheme) for the remedy period 1st April 2015 – 31st March 2022.
More information can be found on Defence Connect at Group: 2015 Remedy (McCloud).
AFPS 05 is a final salary pension scheme. Your AFPS 05 pension started accruing from your first day of paid service.
You’ll be eligible to receive the pension once you’ve completed at least two years of qualifying service.
The pension is 1/70th of the final pensionable earnings multiplied by the years and days of reckonable service. You’ll also get a lump sum, which is three times the value of your annual pension.
What you need to do
Immediate pension
To claim an immediate pension, between 6 and 9 months before you leave you should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 12 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should then complete AFPS Form 1 and send a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
Deferred pension
For a deferred pension, this is not paid automatically. You should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 14 and sending a signed copy by post to : Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should claim your pension from DBS Veterans UK approximately 3 to 6 months before it is due to come into payment, by completing AFPS Form 8 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 335, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms
Early Departure Payment
If you are eligible for an Early Departure Payment, you can claim:
- At 40 years old or older (but before age 60) after at least 20 years of Regular Service
- By completing AFPS Form 1 which can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
What you need to know
It is important that you have read and understood JSP 854 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 before proceeding.
Serving members of the Regular Armed Forces who joined between 1 April 1975 and 5 April 2005 were automatically enrolled in the AFPS 75 scheme. From 6 April 2005, AFPS 75 was closed to new members. As a result of the 2015 Remedy, on 1 April 22 all serving members who were originally offered Transitional Protection, transferred to the AFPS 15.
Any benefits built up in the AFPS 75 legacy scheme are protected, and you will receive benefits earned under the scheme at the same time as you originally expected to receive them.
When an Armed Forces pension becomes payable, you will be offered the choice of which scheme benefits they wish to receive (the 75 scheme or the reformed 15 scheme) for the remedy period 1st April 2015 – 31st March 2022.
More information can be found on Defence Connect at Group: 2015 Remedy (McCloud).
The AFPS 75 pension starts to accrue from:
- officers - age 21
- other Ranks/Ratings/Marines – age 18
For Officers at OF6 (Commodore, Brigadier, Air Commodore) or below and Other Ranks/Ratings/Marines, pension benefits are based on final pensionable rank and length of reckonable service.
The final pensionable rank is based on the following:
- officers – the highest substantive rank held for more than two years, or the highest paid acting rank held for three years, at any point in service
- other Ranks/Ratings/Marines – the highest paid rank held for more than two years in the last five years of service
In AFPS 75, members of the Armed Forces with the same rank and same number of years of reckonable service are normally awarded the same pension, regardless of their actual pay; this is known as the representative pay rate for the rank. Representative pay is calculated using specially selected rates of military salary and does not include extra amounts for those on bespoke pay spines.
For Officers at OF7 (Rear Admiral, Major General, Air Vice-Marshall) and above the pension is based on years of reckonable service and final pensionable earnings. The only exception is the ill health pension which is based on a representative rate.
The maximum service that can be accrued on AFPS 75 is:
- officers - 34 years, and
- other Ranks/Ratings/Marines - 37 years
What you need to do
Immediate pension
To claim an immediate pension, between 6 and 9 months before you leave you should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 12 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should then complete AFPS Form 1 and send a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
Deferred pension
For a deferred pension, this is not paid automatically. You should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 14 and sending a signed copy by post to : Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should claim your pension from DBS Veterans UK approximately 3 to 6 months before it is due to come into payment, by completing AFPS Form 8 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 335, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms
What you need to know
Gurkha pension calculator
The Gurkha pension calculator below gives a forecast of benefits for members of Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) 75 or AFPS 05 who transferred as part of the serving Gurkha Offer To Transfer (GOTT). All officers, and those soldiers who joined as part of the 1993 intake and earlier, were given a service credit. This calculator will adjust the pensionable service to take into account any service credit received.
Gurkha redundancy calculator
The Gurkha redundancy calculator is to be used in conjunction with Directorate Staff and Personnel Support's (DSPS (A)) letter (reference DSPS(A) 4.5.23 dated 15 April 2011).
Gurkha soldiers and Late Entry officers selected for redundancy are entitled to receive a lump sum in compensation for shortening their career as well as other terminal and retirement benefits.
However, the entitlement of Gurkha Late Entry officers, who joined the Army before 1 July 1997, and Gurkhas soldiers, who joined the Army before 1 October 1993, to redundancy compensation is affected by the terms and conditions of the GOTT, which means that the Armed Forces Redundancy Calculator (AFRC) will not produce an accurate forecast. In these cases, Gurkhas must use the Gurkha pension calculator (GPC) to produce a forecast of the parts of their redundancy package which the AFRC cannot calculate correctly and then, in some cases, apply a manual workaround.
What you need to know
The below pension schemes were available:
- Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS) Pension scheme – this scheme was for those in NRPS, it closed to new members on 1 April 2011
- Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) Pension Scheme 1997 – this scheme was for FTRS reservists, it closed to new members on 5 April 2005
- Reserve Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (RFPS 05) – this scheme was for NRPS, FTRS and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC) reservists who joined from 6 April 2005. The scheme closed to new members on 1 April 2015
NRPS Pension Scheme annual pension is:
- 1/80th of the member’s final pensionable earnings multiplied by the number of years of reckonable service
- a lump sum worth 3 times the value of the annual pension is paid
- the maximum service is 40 years
FTRS Pension Scheme 1997 annual pension is:
- for a person on Full Commitment FTRS it is calculated by multiplying the amount of the member’s final pensionable earnings by the number of years of reckonable service by 1.5%. A lump sum worth 3 times the value of the annual pension is paid
- for a person on Limited Commitment FTRS and Home Commitment FTRS it is calculated by multiplying the amount of the member’s final pensionable earnings by the number of years of reckonable service by 1.25%. A lump sum worth 3 times the value of the annual pension is paid
RFPS 05 annual pension is:
- based on the reckonable service and final pensionable pay for each commitment
- each year is worth 1/70th of final pensionable pay up to a maximum of 40 year
- a lump sum worth 3 times the value of the annual pension is paid
What you need to do
Immediate pension
To claim an immediate pension, between 6 and 9 months before you leave you should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 12 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should then complete AFPS Form 1 and send a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms.
Deferred pension
For a deferred pension, this is not paid automatically. You should:
- Obtain pension forecast. You can obtain a pension forecast by completing AFPS Form 14 and sending a signed copy by post to : Veterans UK, Process Team MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
- Submit application. You should claim your pension from DBS Veterans UK approximately 3 to 6 months before it is due to come into payment, by completing AFPS Form 8 and sending a signed copy by post to: Veterans UK, Process Team MP 335, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX.
These forms can also be found at Veterans UK Armed Forces-pensions forms
