Understand how much you'll get

Annual Benefit Statements

The SPPA has a legal duty to provide you with regular details of your estimated pension benefits.

We automatically produce Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) for NHS pension scheme members who are in active employment. 

Your Annual Benefit Statement estimates your pension benefits built up to the end of the most recent financial year. This is based on your pensionable service and / or your salary details, which are confirmed by your employer. 

If you are a Practitioner, your Annual Benefit Statements are available 12 months in arrears.

2015 Remedy

On 1 April 2022, the 1995 and 2008 NHS schemes closed to any future pension build-up. Members were moved into the 2015 CARE Pension Scheme.

From 1 October 2023, Eligible members will have the option to choose between legacy scheme (final salary) or reformed scheme (CARE) benefits when they retire. This choice will be for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 and the information about the choice will be sent to retiring members in a document called a Remediable Service Statement (RSS). To illustrate what this will mean for your own pension benefits during your working career your ABS has been combined with an RSS in a document called an ABS-RSS. The ABS-RSS estimates your benefits in both the legacy scheme and reformed scheme.

Accessing your Annual Benefit Statement

If you work for the NHS in Scotland, you can register for our online member portal where you can see and print copies of your statement. The SPPA’s new member online portal – Engage – is now live for the provision of ABS and ABS-RSS. Member will be sent direct communication from SPPA to alert them about the availability of their ABS or ABS-RSS and the registration process.

The 2015 Remedy calculator is available to use if you'd like to compare your legacy and reformed scheme benefits.

2015 Remedy Calculator

Using a Financial Adviser

If you’re still working for the NHS, the SPPA can’t provide your Financial Adviser with an estimate.

You can download your Annual Benefit Statement from our online member portal and send it to them directly. If you have left NHS employment, we can accept requests from financial advisers as long as they can provide a mandate signed by you, which must be dated within the last 12 months, authorising the release of the requested information.

We will provide a statement showing the value of your pension benefits when they were preserved and guidance on using our Preserved Calculator.

More information can be found at The Money and Pensions Service

NHS Pension Calculator 

How to calculate your benefits 

The NHS Retirement Calculator is designed to help illustrate the projected benefits members will receive at different retirement ages from both the legacy and reformed NHS Pension Schemes in Scotland.

Guidance on what members can use this calculator are held within the home page of the calculator

Please note that Practitioner members and Mental Health Officers with benefits in the legacy schemes are currently unable to use this version of the calculator. Practitioners who joined from 1 April 2012 can use this calculator. Future versions are planned to include Practitioner Scheme members and Mental Health Officers.

You will need to have the following to ensure you receive an as accurate response as possible.

• Recent Annual Benefit Statement
• Date you first joined the scheme
• Current Salary
• Salary as of 1 April 2015 (if you are remedy eligible)
• Part time periods of work (past or if intending to do so in the future)

This calculator is for guidance purposes only and the outputs provided are an estimate only. It is not intended to provide you with financial advice. If you require financial advice, you should contact an independent financial adviser.

NHS Pension Calculator

Preserved Benefits Estimate Calculator

If you're a former member of the NHS Superannuation Scheme's 1995 or 2008 Sections (including Practitioners), you can use the Preserved Benefits estimate Calculator to estimate your retirement benefits. 

The calculator will allow preserved members of the scheme to estimate their own current preserved benefits. Whilst we have made every effort to ensure accuracy, the figures stated are estimated only. Exact figures for retirement benefits cannot be given until such time as an application for retirement benefits has been made in accordance with the scheme rules.

Before you start:

• have your preserved benefits letter and certificate to hand, and; 
• read the guidance notes provided on the calculator 

This calculator provides;

• an estimated illustration of your preserved benefits at today’s value (including transferred in service, added years or Mental Health Officer service);
• a printable letter and certificate of the results provided, and; 
• a retirement estimate if you've reached age 55 (including any reduced benefits if applicable) 

This calculator does not provide: 2015 scheme benefits, the effect of pensions tax charges on your benefits, details of future state pension or private pension provision, details of any survivor benefits payable in the event of your death or details of terminal ill health benefits.

NHS Preserved Calculator

Partial Retirement

Partial retirement is a flexible option that enables NHS Pension Scheme members to continue working while receiving some or all of their pension benefits. You can find out more on our Partial Retirement section which includes a calculator you can use.

Taking a tax-free lump sum 

You can choose to take part of your pension benefits as a lump sum, rather than as annual income. This is sometimes known as ‘commutation’.

The maximum retirement lump sum you will be able to take tax-free is £268,275, unless you have lifetime allowance protection from HMRC.  

Pension Lump Sum Calculator