Understanding your armed forces pension
Find out more information about your armed forces pension scheme.
Your pension scheme
There are 3 main armed forces pension schemes. These are:
- the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15)
- the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 05)
- the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75)
You can find out more about each scheme below.
Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15)
If you joined the armed forces on or after 1 April 2015, you are in this scheme.
All paid service counts towards your pension.
You can claim this pension at your state pension age, or age 55 at a reduced rate.
For full guidance, see Understanding the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015.
Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 05)
If you joined the armed forces between 6 April 2005 and 31 March 2015, you will have entered this scheme.
If you were 45 or over on 1 April 2012, you would have remained in this scheme. If you were under 45 on 1 April 2012, you would have been transferred to the AFPS 15 scheme above.
All paid service counts towards your pension.
You can claim the AFPS 05 pension at age 65, or age 55 at a reduced rate.
For full guidance, see Understanding the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005.
Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75)
If you joined the armed forces between 1 April 1975 and 5 April 2005, you will have entered this scheme.
Paid service after age 18 counts towards your pension (21 for officers).
You can claim your pension at age 60 for benefits earned up to and including 5 April 2006, and age 65 for earnings after that date.
For full guidance, see Understanding the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975.
For more details on these and other pension schemes, including the Gurkha Pension Scheme and Gibraltar Pension Scheme, see Armed forces pensions.
Claiming your pension early
If you’re unable to work full time due to permanent physical or mental ill-health, you can apply to receive your pension early by using the form below.
If you left the armed forces following injury or disability due to service, find out about managing illness or injury as a veteran.
Unclaimed service pensions
If you served in the armed forces from 1 April 1975 and left without entitlement to immediate benefits, you could have an unclaimed pension.
You need to make a claim 3 months before your pension is due. If you have passed the due date, you can still claim using the form below.
Your dependants
Spouses, civil partners and dependants may be entitled to benefits from the pension scheme of a deceased service person. The death need not be related to service.
All 3 schemes offer spouse and civil partner pensions to those who meet the criteria. The rules may be more complicated if marriages or civil partnerships took place after leaving service. Only AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 provide pensions to unmarried partners.
To qualify for an AFPS 75 children’s pension, the child must be born of a marriage which took place before leaving the armed forces. For more recent schemes, this marriage requirement does not exist, but there are age, education and infirmity stipulations for all schemes.
Understanding commutation/inverse commutation
Commutation means giving up part of your pension in return for a lump sum.
AFPS 75 provides an automatic tax-free pension lump sum of 3 times the pension.
AFPS 05 provides an automatic tax-free pension lump sum of 3 times the pension. You can give up some or all of the tax-free lump sum in order to improve your taxable pension. This is called inverse commutation.
AFPS 15 does not provide an automatic pension lump sum, but you can surrender up to 25% of the value of your pension pot in order to generate one. This is called commutation.
If you need help
If your pension is not in payment
Contact the Ministry of Defence:
Ministry of Defence
Telephone: 0800 085 3600 (overseas +44 141 224 3600)
Email: [email protected]
Ministry of Defence
Pensions Division
Mail Point 480
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glasgow G2 8EX
If your pension is in payment
Contact Equiniti Paymaster:
Equiniti Paymaster
Telephone: 0345 121 2514
Email: [email protected]
Equiniti Paymaster
Sutherland House
Russell Way
Crawley
RH10 1UH