2015 Remedy

On 1 April 2022 the legacy NHS Schemes were closed to any future pension build-up and members were moved into the reformed 2015 pension scheme.

If you are Eligible you will have the chance to choose between your legacy or reformed scheme benefits when you retire. 

Find out more about the 2015 Remedy from our Remedy Hub

2023 Annual Benefit Statement for members who are not eligible for 2015 Remedy

If you are not eligible for 2015 Remedy, you will receive an annual benefit statement by the end of August 2023.

2023 Annual Benefit Statement for members who are eligible for 2015 Remedy

If you are working and contributing to a pension and or have deferred your benefits you will receive a dual annual benefit statement in August 2024. This is a change to the ABS you are used to and will provide estimates of benefits in both the Legacy and reformed (CARE) schemes. 

We are currently preparing to offer this choice to eligible members and getting everything ready to deliver dual Annual Benefit Statements in 2024. As a result, we will not be issuing ABS for 2023 as these will have limited value because they will not be accurate from 1 October 2023 and will be replaced with a Remedial Service Statement from August 2024.

Dual ABS will be introduced from August 2024.

In the absence of an Annual Benefit Statement this year you can self-serve and use our Remedy calculator to get an estimate of your pension benefits for the Remedy period.

If you have retired you will be provided with a Remedial Service Statement after 1st October 2023 so that you can make your Remedy choice.

A Remedy calculator is available to use if you'd like to compare your legacy and reformed scheme benefits. This is the only service available at the present time to Remedy affected members who wish to obtain an estimate.

NHS Remedy Calculator

Accessing your annual benefit statement

If you're in active employment, you can register for our online service where you can access and print copies of your annual benefit statement.

Your annual benefit statement estimates your pension benefits accrued up to the end of the most recent financial year based on your pensionable service and / or salary details as confirmed by your employer.

Your annual benefit statement estimates your pension benefits accrued up to the end of the most recent financial year based on your pensionable service and / or salary or pensionable pay details as confirmed by your employer.

If you're in active employment, you can register for our online service where you can access your annual benefit statement.

Please note to be eligible for a 2023 ABS, members must be Active in the scheme at 31 March 2023 and are still active at the date of calculation.

My ABS isn’t showing all of my service

If you are a member of both the final salary scheme and the 2015 CARE scheme your ABS will only show your service in the final salary scheme. This is because service is used in the calculation of final salary benefits but is not used in the calculation of CARE benefits.

If you work part time your pensionable service will be less than the calendar length service. e.g. if you work two and a half days per week over a five day week you will accrue 182 or 183 days of reckonable service over the 365 days qualifying service that year.

If you have had a break in service of more than 5 years the earlier service will be preserved.

I have worked since 2013, why does my ABS not show 10 years of service?

As a result of pension reforms in April 2015 you may now have pension benefits in both a final salary scheme and the 2015 CARE scheme. The CARE scheme was introduced on 1 April 2015, if you were moved to CARE on this date your final salary service will only be counted up to this date.

My Service hasn’t increased from last year

The final salary scheme was closed due to 2015 pension reforms and subsequent Remedy, so service in the final salary scheme will no longer increase. Everyone was moved to the CARE scheme on the 1 April 2022.

My pension benefits are lower than in previous years (Final Salary)

If your employer has reported to us a lower pensionable pay than the previous year it will appear that your benefits have decreased. This is because the pensionable pay is used in the calculation of final salary benefits. If you think that your pensionable pay is too low please contact your employers payroll to check that it is correct. We use the current years pay to calculate your Final Salary ABS estimate but at the point you retire we use the best pay in the last three years to calculate your final pension.

The CARE section of my 2023 ABS doesn’t list my total pensionable earnings

If you started a new contract mid-year our system will only recognise the pay on your active employment, for example:

1 April 2022 to 31 July 2022 employment ends and pay for this period is £10,000.

1 August 2022 to 31 March 2023 the pay for this active employment is £25,000.

The total CARE earnings for the financial year are £35,000. However your ABS may only show the CARE earnings as £25,000.

Your CARE pension will be calculated using the full £35,000.

I have an early retirement reduction (ERRBO) contract – this doesn’t show on my ABS

Our systems are unable to factor in ERRBO contracts to ABS. However your ERRBO contract is held on your record and will be included in any future retirement calculation.

Date of Joining is different from when I started working?

Your date of joining the scheme will always be the date you commenced your first pensionable employment in Scotland. If you have previously worked in another area of the UK and have transferred in service, your date of joining the scheme will still show the date you joined the Scottish scheme. Transferred in service will be included in benefit calculations and statements.

Is my Added Years or Additional Pension shown on my benefit statement?

If you have a contract to purchase additional pension benefits such as Added Years or Additional Pension by instalment, the full amount of the benefits will not show on your benefit statement until the full contract has been completed. Until then you will see a proportionate credit based on how much has been paid to the date of the statement.

Calculators

As well as annual benefit statements we have a range of calculators that can be used by members still in active employment. These can be used to estimate to future dates and scenarios of your choice.

NHS Pension Calculator

Please note: Our calculators are only available for members with a minimum pension age of 55. If you have a minimum pension age of 50 you'll need to contact us to request an estimate, however you must be within 12 months of your intended retirement date to receive one.

2015 Remedy

This online calculator can provide you with an illustration of the impact on the legacy and reformed scheme benefits to your pension entitlement.

To open the calculator, please ensure that you are using either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

Remedy Calculator

Preserved members

NHS - Preserved Benefits Estimates

If you're a former member of the NHS Superannuation Scheme's 1995 or 2008 Sections (including Practitioners),and you haven't reached your minimum pension age, or won't be claiming your pension within the next 12 months, we can only provide an estimate of your pension’s current value.

If you intend to claim your pension before your normal pension age, the estimate will take into account any applicable reduction for early payment.

Information for Preserved members

Ill health retirement

If your NHS HR or Occupational Health department considers ending your employment on the grounds of ill health, we can provide an estimate of what your benefits will be.

If you've already left the NHS with your benefits preserved in the scheme and you're too ill to carry out any form of employment, we can also estimate your likely benefits.

While there's no minimum age for requesting an estimate of ill health retirement benefits, they can only be paid subject to your application being assessed and approved by an independent Medical Adviser - see our NHS Ill health retirement section.

Premature retirement due to redundancy or interests of efficiency of the service

If you've reached your minimum pension age and are due to leave the NHS through redundancy or in the interests of efficiency of the service, your employer can request an estimate of your potential benefits.

Authorising a financial advisor to contact the SPPA

If you are in active employment and require information for your financial advisor, please access your annual benefit statement online.

If you have left NHS employment

We are able to accept requests from financial advisers as long as they can provide a mandate, signed by you authorising the release of the requested information.

Pension lump sum choice

If you have decided to retire but are unsure whether to convert some of your annual pension into an additional tax free lump sum, please tick further information in section 4 page 10 of your application form. The SPPA will then provide exact information for you to make a decision prior to your pension being put into payment.

information about Lump Sums

Projected pension estimates

The SPPA does not provide estimates projecting your possible pension benefits to a future date for the use of financial advisors or for mortgage purposes.