There are 2 NHS Pension schemes. There's the 1995 / 2008 Scheme and the 2015 Scheme.
From 1 April 2022, all new and active members of the NHS Pension Scheme are members of the 2015 Scheme.
Watch our video to understand about the NHS Pension Scheme and what type of member you are:
Download the video transcript (PDF: 119KB).
You can view the NHS Pension Scheme overview (PDF: 186KB) for more detail about each scheme.
Types of scheme member
There are different types of NHS Pension Scheme member:
Active – a member who is currently contributing to the Scheme
Deferred – a former member who is:
- entitled to retirement benefits and
- no longer contributing to the Scheme and
- not yet receiving their NHS pension
Pensioner – someone who is receiving their NHS pension.
Scheme membership
Find out more about how your membership is calculated:
Calculating membership (PDF: 178KB)Maximum membership and age restrictions (PDF: 101KB)Mental Health Officer (MHO) (WORD: 218KB)Special Class status (SCS) (WORD: 218KB)Working for a Direction/Determination Employer employee information (PDF: 169KB)
Life Events
Find out how some changes in your life may impact your NHS pension:
Authorised leave and career breaks (PDF: 330KB)Gender recognition (PDF: 129KB)
Membership enquiries
To get information about your membership, you need to complete a membership enquiry form.
Read our membership record factsheet (PDF: 218KB) for general information.
The following factsheets will provide more in-depth information regarding your specific enquiry.
Standard membership enquiry factsheet (PDF: 242KB)Retrospective membership enquiry factsheet (PDF: 182KB)Part-Time Access membership enquiry factsheet (PDF: 184KB)
Membership enquiry forms
Membership statement request (1995/2008 Scheme) (SM27A) (PDF: 183KB)Membership enquiry - contact with the employer (SM27B) (Word: 166KB)Membership enquiry - contact with NHS Pensions (SM27C) (Word: 100KB)Retrospective membership enquiry - contact with the employer SM Retro 1 (Word: 100KB)Part-Time Access membership enquiry - contact with NHS Pensions SM PTA1 (Word: 96KB)Request for Mental Officer status form (SM MHO) (Word: 355KB)
Public service pensions (McCloud) remedy period
(1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022)
When the government made changes to public service pension schemes in 2015, including the NHS Pension Scheme, scheme protection allowed some members who were closer to retirement to stay in the section of the scheme they were in on 31 March 2015.
The Court of Appeal later found that this discriminated against younger members. The government is removing this age discrimination from public service pension schemes.
The 1995/2008 Scheme closed on 31 March 2022 and the remaining active members transferred to the 2015 Scheme so that all members are now treated equally. Visit our dedicated public service pensions remedy - McCloud webpages for more information.
From 1 April 2022, all active members regardless of age became members of the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme. All legacy pension schemes were closed, including the 1995/2008 NHS Pension Scheme.
Under the remedy, eligible members will keep any service they earned before 1 April 2022 in the 1995/2008 Scheme, subject to normal eligibility rules.
If you're eligible for the remedy, you'll be offered a choice of either 1995/2008 Scheme or 2015 Scheme pension benefits for any service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. This has replaced any previous protection arrangements.
If you were moved from the 1995/2008 Scheme to the 2015 Scheme for any period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 under the previous arrangements, this period has been rolled back into the 1995/2008 Scheme.
You can read more about the changes on our rollback of remedy period service webpage.
Previous public service pension scheme membership (PPSM)
If you joined the NHS Pension Scheme on or after 1 April 2012, or rejoined the Scheme following a break of more than 5 years, and have previous pensionable membership with an eligible UK public service pension scheme, you may need to provide us with details of the pensionable membership with the eligible UK public pension service scheme.
You can visit our webpage Understanding if your NHS Pension is affected by changes to public sector pensions for more information, and download the Remedy PPSM form.
Deferred pension
When you leave the Scheme, your pension will be deferred if you have either:
- more than 2 years qualifying membership, or
- less than 2 years in the Scheme, but have transferred a personal pension into the NHS Pension Scheme
This means the pension you have built up will remain in the Scheme. It will be paid when you reach your normal pension age.
We’ll defer your pension after you have left the Scheme for 12 months.
This is only if you haven't either:
- transferred your pension benefits to another pension provider
- returned to the NHS in a role where you can start building up your pension again
Protection of pay
In some circumstances, you may be able to protect your pensionable pay for your 1995/2008 Section pension benefits if you suffer a reduction in pensionable pay
To find out more read the protection of pay and voluntary protection of pay factsheet (PDF: 250KB).
Apply for protection of pay or voluntary protection using the request to protect pensionable pay application form (SMR9)_(App) (Word: 246KB).