Estimated pension benefits and Annual Benefit Statements
On this page:
- Annual Benefit Statements
- A guide to understanding your Annual Benefit Statement
- Estimates and calculators
Annual Benefit Statements
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 scheme (final salary) or reformed (CARE) scheme benefits when you retire. Find out more about the 2015 Remedy from our Remedy Hub
Find out more about the 2015 Remedy from our Remedy Hub
2024 Annual Benefit Statement for members who are not eligible for 2015 Remedy
If you are not eligible for 2015 Remedy, your Annual Benefit Statement will be available online by the end of August 2024.
2024 Annual Benefit Statement for members who are eligible for 2015 Remedy
If you are eligible, you will have the chance to choose between your legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the remedy period when you retire.
If you are working and contributing to your pension or have deferred your benefits your Annual Benefit Statement combined with a Remediable Service Statement (ABS-RSS) will be available online by March 2025. This will provide an estimate of your benefits in both the legacy (final salary) and reformed (CARE) schemes.
A Remedy calculator is available to use if you'd like to compare your legacy and reformed scheme benefits.
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 Statements.
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.
If you are eligible for the 2015 Remedy, your ABS-RSS will be available online by March 2025.
A guide to understanding your Annual Benefit Statement (ABS)
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 2024 ABS, members must be active in the scheme at 31 March 2024 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 2024 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 2023 to 31 July 2024 employment ends and pay for this period is £10,000.
- 1 August 2023 to 31 March 2024 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.
Estimates and 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.
To use the calculators, check your most recent Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) on our online member portal first, then you can input that information into the calculators below.
Accessing the calculator
The calculator should automatically download to your computer or mobile device. Depending on your computer settings, it may also open in your web browser.
If you use the Microsoft Edge browser, you may see an error message that says: ‘Couldn’t Load This Workbook.’
If you see the error message and the calculator hasn't downloaded, you can manually download the calculator by clicking the ‘download file’ button. This will appear above the error message.
Download the NHS Pension Calculator
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.
If you require an estimate to support with retirement planning or other life events, an estimate can be provided if you are:
- At retirement age and ready/thinking about retirement
- Within six months of retirement
- Requiring an estimate pending redundancy, divorce, ill- health or for mortgage applications
- Are not able to use the calculators
If you meet this criteria, please contact us.
Remedy
Some active members who were eligible for Remedy did not receive an Annual Benefit Statement in 2023. They will get an ABS-RSS by 31 March 2025 which will include their options under Remedy. This is the most up to date projection offered by the SPPA.