Receiving your pension

Overview

We look after pension payments for over 200,000 members of the Police, Firefighters’, NHS and Teachers’ pension schemes. We have two payroll teams – one for the Police and Firefighters’ pension schemes and one for the NHS and Teachers’ pension schemes. Each team is responsible for keeping records and paying lump sums and monthly pension payments, as well as applying increases, issuing P60s and taking care of pensioner death notifications.

Updating your personal details

Make sure you tell us about changes to your personal details as quickly as you can.

Changing your address

You can tell us about a change of address by phone, email or letter. It’s important to keep your personal details up to date because if we receive any returned mail we’ll suspend your pension to protect you and your data.

Contact us by phone:

To get through to our Customer Contact Team, please call:

01896 893000

Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm

Friday: 9am to 4:30pm

Contact us by post:

Police and Firefighters’ Pension Payroll
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
7 Tweedside Park
Tweedbank
Galashiels
TD1 3TE

Email us

police&firepayroll@gov.scot

Or use the contact us form

Changing your bank details

If you change your bank details you must tell us in writing.

You have to tell us about a change of bank account in writing. Your letter must be signed by the person receiving the pension or a representative with power of attorney or a legal guardian. You can post the letter to us, or scan and attach a copy to an email.

If you forget to sign your letter then we won’t be able to update your records, which may mean your payment gets delayed.

Contact us by post:

Police and Firefighters’ Pension Payroll
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
7 Tweedside Park
Tweedbank
Galashiels
TD1 3TE

Email a scanned copy of your letter to:

police&firepayroll@gov.scot

Changing other details

Letting us know about other changes, like a change of marital status.

To change your marital status, name or any other details, you must write to us by post or email us. Include photocopies of any supporting documents, for example your marriage certificate or divorce decree.

Contact us by post:

Police and Firefighters’ Pension Payroll
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
7 Tweedside Park
Tweedbank
Galashiels
TD1 3TE

Email us with a scanned copy of your supporting documentation:

police&firepayroll@gov.scot

Receiving your pension and lump sum payments

Everything you need to know about regular payments and lump sum payments in the Firefighters’ pension scheme.

New pension payments are paid in advance on the first banking day of each month. If you are a member of the NFPS or Fire CARE 2015 schemes, payments are made in arrears on the last day of each month. If you retire part-way through a month, your first pension payment will include all back- dated arrears up until the date you retired.

If the first day of the month falls on a weekend, you’ll be paid on the Friday before.

Lump sum payments will be credited to your account after 2pm on your first day of retirement. If your first day of retirement falls on a weekend or bank holiday, your lump sum will be paid on the first available banking day.

We only send out payslips when there is a change of £5 or more to your net pension, for example through a tax code change or annual increase. If you need a payslip for your records, please contact us.

Receiving your pension abroad

Receiving a pension when you don’t live in the UK.

If you live abroad you can choose to have your pension paid into an overseas bank account through Citibank, our overseas service provider. Citibank buy foreign currencies in bulk when rates are favourable and use their buying power to get more competitive rates. There is a charge for this service.

Charges

A standard 2% foreign currency transaction charge is applied to all overseas payments, which is payable by you. There is no handling fee. Citibank purchase currencies in bulk ahead of time which means it’s difficult to compare like-for-like when it comes to exchange rates.

Third-party charges or fees

You are responsible for any third-party charges or fees, which may include:

  • Intermediary or correspondent bank charges
    If your payment is routed through a correspondent or intermediary bank, they may charge for this service. Citibank always aim to use their own branch network to minimise intermediary or correspondent bank charges.
  • Beneficiary bank charges
    Beneficiary bank charges are charged by your bank for processing an incoming foreign payment. In most cases, Citibank uses the local clearing house system (for example, BACS in the UK) which means payments are identified as a domestic item rather than a foreign payment to reduce beneficiary bank charges.

Overseas mandates

To receive your pension payment abroad you must complete an overseas mandate form. It’s a good idea to contact your overseas bank for advice when completing the form to make sure the information you give us is complete and accurate. Incorrect information may mean your payment is delayed.

Payment will be made in your country’s local currency unless you request otherwise. If you wish to receive payments in another currency it’s likely we’ll need more information from you so please contact the payroll team for more information.

Overseas mandate forms

Click here to find the overseas mandate form for the country where you want your pension to be paid.

Tax on your pension payments

Tax codes are calculated by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). When a pension payment starts, it’s usually taxed at the emergency rate until HMRC give us the right tax code. Tax codes are calculated by taking into account all your income and any relevant circumstances. We can’t tell you how your tax code is calculated, so if you’d like more information about it, or about tax in general, you should contact HMRC.

You can also phone HMRC on 0300 200 3300 (+44 135 535 9022 if you’re outside the UK). If calling, it’s a good idea to have your National Insurance number, payroll number and tax reference (also known as your PAYE reference) to hand.

PAYE references are issued to employers and pension providers so HMRC can identify who is making the payment and deducting the tax. It is used to send new tax code notifications to the right income source.

PAYE references

PAYE references for your SPPA pension scheme

All Firefighters’ pensions

475 SB11392

Annual pension increase

Public sector pensions are increased in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) every April, under the provisions of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 and according to the Social Security Pensions Act 1975. Increases depend on the CPI rate in the 12 months up to the previous September.

The amount of any increase is announced by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the draft Pensions Increase (Review) Order which is approved by the UK Parliament in March. Increases then take place from the first Monday after 5 April. We’ll tell you in April if your pension will increase for the year ahead. We’ll also send you a P60 which shows your total pension paid and tax deducted for the year.

If you haven’t been receiving your pension for a full year, you’ll only receive a proportion of the annual increase.

If you’re under 55, the increase won’t be applied until your 55th birthday, unless:

  • you retired on ill-health
  • you receive an injury benefit
  • you receive a widow or widower’s pension, civil partner, partner or child pension

Turning 55

If you’re due to turn 55, we’ll calculate your new pension rate before your birthday and let you know. If your 55th birthday is part-way through a payment period you’ll get a part-month increase based on your pension before 55 and after 55. Your next payment will include a full month-increase.

We don’t provide estimates of age 55 increases.

Guaranteed Minimum Pension

If you retired after 1978 and receive a State Pension, you may be affected by the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP), also known as the Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE) rules. That means you may not always receive the full annual percentage increase in your SPPA pension as part of your increase may be paid by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Find out how GMP and COPE affects members of the Firefighters' pension scheme

Receiving a widow or widower’s pension

If you receive a widow or widower’s pension and your circumstances change, you must let us know.

What counts as a change of circumstances?

If you receive a widow or widower’s pension you must tell us if you decide to re-marry, live with another person as husband and wife, or register a civil partnership because it may affect your pension payment. We will then let you know if your pension payment will continue or end.

If you don’t tell us about any changes in your circumstances and are no longer entitled to a widower or widow’s pension, any payments made will be recoverable by us.

Receiving a dependant’s pension

If you receive a dependant’s pension and your circumstances change, you must let us know.

What counts as a change of circumstances?

If you receive a dependent’s pension, you must let us know if you leave education or training, take a gap year, get a job, get married or enter a civil partnership. These changes may affect your pension.

We’ll contact you every year to ask you to prove that you are still in full-time education or training. If you don’t reply to our query your pension will be suspended, so please make sure you keep your personal details up to date.

If you don’t tell us about any changes in your circumstances and are no longer entitled to a dependent’s pension, any payments made will be recoverable by us.

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