How to find information on our website safely
Finding accurate pension information is important, especially when you are making decisions about your future.
This article explains how to make sure the information you are reading is accurate and sourced from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency Website.
Always start from an official scheme homepage
The safest way to access SPPA guidance is to begin at our official scheme hubs:
These pages are maintained and regularly updated. They provide reliable navigation to benefits, forms, guidance and important life event information.
Please check that the URL is genuine
Every SPPA webpage should begin with:
Some search tools and AI systems can create convincing looking links by guessing the structure of our website. These links may not exist and may not provide correct information.
Use SPPA’s navigation menus instead of relying on search engines or AI tools
Search engines sometimes rewrite or summarise pages using automated systems. AI search tools can also create links that look convincing but have never existed.
These tools do not have access to SPPA’s internal systems and may not provide the correct information.
To avoid misinformation, always:
- Use the navigation on your scheme homepage
- Choose the category related to your question (e.g., Leaving or Opting Out, About your pension, Life Events)
- Follow the links directly from the site rather than external summaries
This should ensure you are seeing accurate, up-to-date information.
Use our official forms and documents
Official SPPA forms and guidance documents are linked directly from the relevant pages within each scheme area.
If a form or document is hosted anywhere else, or you are asked to download something from an unofficial source, please do not use it.
Bookmark pages you use frequently
To avoid confusion, we recommend bookmarking:
- your scheme homepage;
- any key guidance you refer to often.
Bookmarks ensure you return to the correct pages each time.
In summary
To find SPPA information safely:
- Start from an official scheme hub.
- Check the URL begins with pensions.gov.scot.
- Navigate using our menus, not AI or search-engine summaries.
- Only use forms and documents linked directly from the SPPA website.
- Report any suspicious or non-working links.
Your pension information matters, and we want to ensure you always get accurate information and guidance you can trust.