Benefits

How pension builds up

This page explains how your pension built up as an active member of the Scheme.

If you’re a deferred member, you have stopped building up pension.

Your pension has 3 parts

Each part is calculated separately and added together.

To calculate each part, we use your pensionable salary each year. This is your basic annual salary (your salary excluding overtime, bonuses and other non-pensionable allowances).

There is a limit on the maximum pensionable salary we use to calculate your pension. This limit increases each tax year in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI). For the tax year 2024/25, the limit is £223,800.

Contact us if you want to check your pensionable salary

Part 1 - Pension built up to 31 March 2006

For each year you were an active member, you built up £1 of pension for every £60 of your final pensionable salary. This is described as an accrual rate of 1/60th.

Contact us if you want to check your final pensionable salary

How is my final pensionable salary calculated?

Your final pensionable salary is the highest of your pensionable salary:

  • between 31 March 2005 and 2006, or
  • between 31 March 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04 or 2004/05, when increased by inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) up until 31 March 2006.

If you joined the Scheme after 31 May 1989, there is a limit to your final pensionable salary. In the tax year 2005/06, this limit was £105,600.

We will calculate your final pensionable salary for you.

Part 2 - Pension built up between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2012

For each year you were an active member, you built up £1 of pension for every £60 of your pensionable salary for that year.

Part 3 - Pension built up from 1 April 2012

In 2012, we made some changes to the way you build up benefits in the Scheme.

You had the choice to:

  • Continue at an accrual rate of 1/60th
    You could keep building up £1 of pension for every £60 of your pensionable salary, in exchange for paying more contributions each month.
  • Move to an accrual rate of 1/80th
    You could reduce the amount of pension you build up to £1 for every £80 of your pensionable salary.

You continued to build up pension at your chosen rate while you were an active member of the Scheme.

Building up pension when you’re away from work

If you are an active member, you will keep building up pension if you:

  • are sick
  • go on maternity or paternity leave
  • take a paid absence

You will not build up pension while on a career break.

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