The Civil Service Pension Scheme covers employees of government departments and non-departmental public bodies, such as museums, commissions and other organisations.
The type of pension you get from the Civil Service depends on when you joined, but it's one of the most generous of its kind. Known as a defined benefit pension, civil servants get paid a retirement income based on the salary they had during their career.
The rules of the Civil Service Pension Scheme have changed over the years. The latest version of the scheme was introduced in April 2015.
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Which Civil Service Pension Scheme applies to me?
The scheme has five final salary sections: Classic, Classic Plus, Premium, Nuvos and Alpha.
Up to 30 September 2002, the only pension offered was the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. On 1 October 2002, a new scheme, called 'Premium', was introduced and the old scheme was renamed 'Classic'.
Members could either stay in the old scheme or join the new one. There was also a third option, Classic Plus, which is a hybrid of Classic and Premium.
Nuvos was the scheme offered to new joiners from 30 July 2007 until the latest version, Alpha, was introduced from April 2015.
This means that the Partnership scheme doesn't pay you an income based on your salary while you were working as a civil servant. Instead, the value of your pension when you retire depends on how much you (and your employer) have paid in, as well as how the underlying investments have performed.
Here are the rules of the different Civil Service Pension Schemes:
This is a defined benefit pension scheme, where the amount paid out is based on your final salary while you were working.
You can collect your pension from the age of 60.
The Classic scheme was contracted out of the additional state pension between 1978 and 2016. This means you will have paid lower rates of National Insurance contributions and won't have built up entitlement to the additional state pension, instead getting a higher private pension.
This is a defined benefit pension scheme, where the amount paid out is based on your final salary while you were working.
It is actually a combination of two schemes - the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, which ran until 30 September 2002, and the Premium scheme, which ran from 1 October 2002.
Under the scheme rules, you can collect your pension from the age of 60.
The Classic Plus scheme was contracted out of the additional state pension between 1978 and 2016. This means you will have paid lower rates of National Insurance contributions and won't have built up entitlement to the additional state pension, instead getting a higher private pension.
This is a defined benefit pension scheme, where the amount paid out is based on your final salary while you were working.
Under the scheme rules, you can collect your pension from the age of 60.
The Premium scheme was contracted out of the additional state pension between 1978 and 2016. This means you will have paid lower rates of National Insurance contributions and won't have built up entitlement to the additional state pension, instead getting a higher private pension.
This is a defined benefit occupational pension scheme, and your payout is based on a 'career average' calculation, which is the average of your salary over the course of your career.
Under the scheme rules, you can collect your pension from the age of 65.
If you joined the civil service for the first time on or after 30 July 2007 you will have joined the Nuvos scheme.
This is a defined benefit pension scheme, and your payout is based on a 'career average' calculation, which is the average of your salary over the course of your career.
Under scheme rules, you can collect your pension when you reach state pension age.
Many civil service pension scheme members were switched to the Alpha scheme in April 2015, which is slightly less generous than the other schemes and has a later retirement age.
If you were a member of Classic, Classic Plus or Premium and were under 46 years and seven months on 1 April 2012, or a member of Nuvos and were under 51 years and seven months, then you moved over to Alpha.
How much do I contribute to the Civil Service Pension Scheme?
No matter what part of the Civil Service Pension Scheme you're in, you make the same contributions. The amount you contribute varies depending on how much you earn.
The contribution rates for 2025-26 are:
Annualised rate of pensionable earnings
Contribution rate
£0-£34,799
4.6%
£34,800-£56,000
5.45%
£56,001-£150,000
7.35%
£150,001+
8.05%
How much does the Civil Service Pension Scheme pay?
Payments are calculated differently, depending on which version of the scheme you are (or were) part of. Our examples can help you work out what you'll get.
There are a couple of bits of pension jargon to watch out for here.
Most of the calculations are based on 'pensionable earnings', i.e. all earnings that could count towards your pension. They may include non-cash items, such as uniforms or accommodation.
Calculations also use your 'reckonable service' - this is the amount of time you've worked for the Civil Service and been eligible for its pension.
The Classic pension is worked out as follows:
(pensionable earnings x reckonable service) / 80.
So, if your pensionable earnings are £20,000 and your reckonable service is 30 years, your pension would be (£20,000 x 30)/80 = £7,500 a year, or £625 a month before deductions.
As well as the annual pension, the Classic pension pays a one-off lump sum equivalent to three times your annual pension. In the example above, this would be worth £22,500.
The Premium pension is worked out as 1/60 of your final pensionable earnings for every year of reckonable service in the scheme.
So if you have 20 years' of reckonable service, and your final pensionable earnings are £18,000 a year, your annual pension would be:
1/60 x 20 x £18,000 = £6,000 a year
The pension works in two parts:
You receive 1/80 of final pensionable earnings for each year of reckonable service in the scheme before 1 October 2002, plus
1/60 of final pensionable earnings for every year of reckonable service in the scheme from 1 October 2002.
For example, Jeff retires after 30 years' service, of which 20 years were in the Classic scheme (before 1 October 2002) and 10 years were in Premium (from 1 October 2002).
His final pensionable earnings are £60,000 a year.
For service before 1 October 2002: (1/80 x 20) x £60,000 = £15,000
For service from 1 October 2002: (1/60 x 10) x £60,000 = £10,000
Jeff's total annual pension will be £25,000 a year, or £2,083 a month.
The Nuvos scheme is quite different from the other Civil Service schemes.
Your pension is built up in blocks every year at the rate of 2.3% of your pensionable earnings, and then increased by the rate of inflation to keep up with the cost of living.
The amount you get when you retire will be the sum of all of these blocks, plus the annual inflation increases.
Here's an example:
Jenny has pensionable earnings of £18,000. 2.3% of her salary is added to her pension, equivalent to £414 a year.
The following year, Jenny gets a pay rise, and her pensionable pay goes up to £20,000. So, £460 (2.3%) is added to her pension.
The pension Jenny earned in the previous year (£414) has been increased by 2.5%, in line with rises in the cost of living.
So, after two years, Jenny has a pension worth £884.35 a year. This is made up of the £414 Jenny earned in her first year in the pension scheme that has increased to £424.35, plus the £460 that is added in her second year.
Under the Alpha scheme, your pension is made up of 2.32% of your pensionable earnings each year, adjusted in line with prices.
What happens to my Civil Service Pension when I die?
Final salary pensions like the Civil Service Pension will usually pay out a lump sum to your spouse or civil partner if you die before taking your pension, and will usually continue to pay out to your spouse or civil partner if you die after reaching the scheme’s pension age.
Death while still working
The death benefit lump sum is normally worth two times your pensionable pay.
Pension benefits will also be paid to your widow, widower or surviving civil partner and dependent children. This is normally equal to one half of the pension you would have had if you had retired through ill health on the day you died.
A death benefit lump sum is paid if you die within five years of retiring.
It is worked out as the difference (if any) between five times your annual pension on the date of death and the total pension and lump sum payments already received.
Your spouse or civil partner will also get 50% of your pension.
Death while still working
A lump sum is payable to the person(s) you have nominated. This is worth three times your pensionable pay.
If you have been in the scheme for at least two years, your surviving husband, wife or civil partner will receive a pension based on the years you have paid full pension contributions.
This is worked out as 50% of your pension based on your service before 1 October 2002 and 37.5% of your pension based on your service from 1 October 2002.
Death after you retire
If you die within five years of receiving your pension, your nominee will receive a lump sum equivalent to:
five years' worth of the pension you've accrued based on your service before 1 October 2002, plus
five years' worth of the pension you've accrued based on your service from 1 October 2002, less any pension you have already received.
Your spouse or civil partner will also get 50% of pension based on your service before 1 October 2002 and 37.5% of your pension based on your service from 1 October 2002.
This will be based on the full amount of your pension - in other words, before any reduction for using part of your pension to buy a lump sum.
Death while still working
A lump sum is payable to the person(s) you have nominated. This is worth three times your final pensionable earnings.
If you have been in the scheme for at least two years, your surviving husband, wife or civil partner will also receive a pension.
This is worked out as 37.5% of your pension plus an enhancement to your reckonable service of up to 10 years.
Death after you retire
If you die within five years of starting to receive your pension, your nominee(s) will receive a lump sum, equivalent to the amount of pension that would have been payable during the remainder of the five years, if it had continued at the annual rate in payment on the date of death.
Your spouse or civil partner will get a pension after you die, based on 37.5% of your pension with increases in line with the cost of living.
Death while still working
A lump sum worth two times your pensionable pay will be paid to your nominee(s).
If you were a member of the pension scheme for at least 12 months, your spouse or civil partner will also get a pension.
It is usually worked out as on 37.5% of the pension you would have received.
How this is calculated is quite complicated. The scheme will take the amount of pension you've accrued until your time of death, and multiply it by the number of years left until you reached 65, or 10, whichever is lower. It will then divide this figure by the number of years you've been in the pension scheme.
It will add this amount to your pension, and your spouse will get 37.5% of that amount.
Here's an example:
Joan has been in the Nuvos scheme for 25 years and built up £20,000 in her pension. She dies at age 55.
First, the scheme will enhance Joan's pension. The calculation will be 10 x £20,000/25 = £8,000. This is added to the £20,000 Joan had built up to give £28,000.
Joan's spouse will receive 37.5% x £28,000 = £10,500 a year.
Death after you retire
If you die within five years of starting to draw your pension, the scheme will pay a lump sum representing the balance of five years' pension (including any added pension bought) to the person or people you have named.
Your spouse or civil partner will also get a pension. It will be worth 37.5% of the pension you receive.
Death while still working
A lump sum worth two times your pensionable pay will be paid to the person/people you have nominated.
Your spouse or civil partner will also get a pension. It is based on 37.5% of the pension you would have received, based on enhanced service.
How this is calculated is quite complicated. The scheme will take the amount of pension you've accrued until your time of death, and multiply it by the number of years left until you reached 65, or 10, whichever is lower. It will then divide this figure by the number of years you've been in the pension scheme.
It will add this amount to your pension, and your spouse will get 37.5% of that amount.
Death after you retire
If you die within five years of starting to draw your pension, the scheme will pay a lump sum equivalent to five times your annual pension, minus any pension and lump sum you already received before your death.
Your spouse or civil partner will also get a pension. This will be worth 37.5% of the pension you received.
What happens to my Civil Service Pension if I have a career break?
Classic, Classic Plus and Premium
If you take a career break you will not build up any reckonable service during your absence and you will not have to pay contributions.
You will therefore not build up any pension for the duration of your career break. You will return to whichever scheme you were a member of when you left.
Nuvos
If you are not paid, you will not build up any pension and you cannot pay contributions while on a career break.
Alpha
If you re-join Alpha after leaving, and also have some service in the other Civil Service Pension Schemes (Classic, Classic Plus, Premium, or Nuvos), how your pension is treated will depend on:
whether or not you have preserved benefits
how long your break was
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