Scottish Firefighter Pension Scheme: SFRS Rules 2026

Who runs the Scottish firefighter pension scheme

The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2015 established the current scheme, which came into effect on 1 April 2015 for new and most existing SFRS firefighters. Unlike England, where each fire and rescue authority appoints an administrator, all Scottish firefighter pensions are administered centrally by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), an executive agency of the Scottish Government, on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

That has practical consequences. Statements, remedy communications and retirement quotations all come from one organisation, with an online member portal called Engage. It also means Scottish members should read Scottish sources: English LGA guidance is often written for English authorities and can differ on rates, factors and timelines.

This guide is based on SPPA’s published pages, its March 2026 circular and its pre-2015 members’ guide. Where the information is a few years old, that is flagged.

How the Scottish 2015 scheme builds a pension

SPPA describes the scheme as a career average revalued earnings scheme with a current accrual rate of 1/61.6 of pensionable pay in each year. Compare that with England’s 1/59.7: £25,000 of pensionable pay builds £405.84 of annual pension in Scotland against £418.76 in England. Normal pension age is 60, the deferred pension age is linked to State Pension age, and members can retire from 55 with an actuarial reduction.

SPPA’s early retirement factors differ from England’s. The LGA’s November 2023 factsheet showed Scottish reductions for active members of 13.4% at 55, 11.1% at 56, 8.6% at 57, 6.0% at 58 and 3.1% at 59, compared with 20%, 16.6%, 12.9%, 8.9% and 4.6% in England. Deferred members taking their pension before State Pension age face bigger reductions; for someone with State Pension age 66, the same factsheet showed 43.5% at 55.

You can build the same year-by-year model as in how to calculate your firefighter pension by using 61.6 instead of 59.7, and the free pension calculator shows the effect of retirement age.

Scottish contribution bands and employer contributions

SPPA’s contributions page states the current 2015 scheme member contribution rates as 11.73% on pensionable pay up to £36,330, 13.63% from £36,331 to £57,090, 14.23% from £57,091 to £147,915, and 15.23% above £147,915. Contributions are deducted from pay before income tax, so you receive tax relief. SPPA states that the employer contributes 34.1% of pensionable pay.

The page does not carry an effective date, so check the date when you rely on it. Earlier in 2025, a consultation and regulations to increase Scottish employee contributions were published, and rates from 1 July 2025 were reported as 11.73%, 13.63%, 14.23% and 15.23% with slightly different band edges. If your payslip percentage does not match the table, ask SPPA or SFRS payroll which band applies to you.

Scottish income tax is separate from pension rules: the pension deduction reduces your taxable pay, and Scottish tax bands then apply to what is left. The pension contributions calculator and pay calculator can show the effect on take-home pay; see also Scotland firefighter salary.

Revaluation and pension increases in 2026

SPPA circular 2026/02 of 4 March 2026 confirms two numbers. Pensions in payment and deferred pensions increased by 3.8% from 6 April 2026, reflecting CPI in the 12 months to September 2025. The in-service revaluation for the 2015 scheme in respect of 2025/26 was 4.8%, the earnings-based figure that applies to active members. The circular says the Scottish 2015 Regulations provide for annual revaluation by reference to average weekly earnings for active members and CPI for deferred members.

Note that SPPA’s general scheme page still describes revaluation as linked to CPI in its key features list. The circular is later and specific, so use it for the in-service position, and ask SPPA if your statement uses a different basis.

The difference between the two figures matters: a serving member’s pension account grew faster than a pensioner’s pension in 2026. Over a career, that earnings link is one of the most valuable features of the scheme.

Legacy Scottish schemes: 1992, 2006 and the modified scheme

SPPA’s pages describe three earlier sections. The 1992 scheme has a uniform accrual rate of 1/60 with double accrual after 20 years, normal pension age of 50 with 25 years’ service, 30 years’ service, or 55, whichever comes first, and a deferred pension age of 60. The 2006 scheme, called the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, accrues 1/60 of final salary for each year of service up to 45 years, with normal pension age 60 for active members and deferred age 65, and a lump sum death grant of two times pay.

The Retained Firefighters’ Modified Pension Scheme was introduced on 1 April 2015 after a legal challenge to the exclusion of part-time retained firefighters from the 1992 scheme. It provides a uniform accrual rate of 1/45, a normal pension age of 55, a deferred pension age of 60, fixed commutation factors and a death grant of two times pensionable pay, mirroring 1992 for the period it covers.

In SPPA’s pre-2015 guide, the 2006 and 2015 schemes exchange £12 of lump sum for £1 of pension, while the 1992 scheme uses a table of age- and sex-based factors. For a deeper look at the 1992 scheme, see FPS 1992 explained and FPS 2006 explained; the three-scheme comparison sets them side by side.

Age discrimination remedy and statements in Scotland

SPPA’s statements page says that on 1 April 2022 the legacy schemes closed to future build-up and members moved to the 2015 scheme. Eligible members will choose between legacy (final salary) and reformed (CARE) benefits for the remedy period when they retire. Active members and deferred members should receive an annual benefit statement combined with a remediable service statement (ABS-RSS); deferred members receive a deferred benefit RSS (DB-RSS), which SPPA said it was working towards issuing from October 2026.

Some cases need extra processing: transferred-in service in the remedy period, added pension and data inconsistencies. If you do not get an ABS-RSS, SPPA says it will be in touch. Reporting to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee has indicated the remedy deadline for police, firefighters’ and teachers’ schemes was extended to the end of 2026, and that many thousands of statements had been issued by July 2026; check SPPA’s own updates for the current position.

Members not eligible for the remedy receive an annual benefit statement by the end of August each year, and it is worth reading each one carefully, because pay or service errors are far easier to correct while they are recent than at the point of retirement, when a mistake can delay your first payment. More on the process is in the remediable service statement guide and the annual benefit statement explained.

Worked example: 25 years on £36,000 in Scotland

To see the numbers in one place, take a Scottish firefighter with pensionable pay of £36,000 in every year, which is an assumption for illustration and sits in the first SPPA band. Contributions are £36,000 × 11.73% = £4,222.80 a year before tax relief. The pension credit for each year is £36,000 ÷ 61.6 = £584.42. With no revaluation, 25 years builds 25 × £584.42 = £14,610 a year.

If the account is revalued at an assumed 3% a year, applied to the opening balance each 1 April, the same 25 years builds about £21,307 a year. Exchanging the maximum 25% of that pension for a lump sum at £12 for each £1 gives £5,327 × 12, about £63,922, and leaves a reduced pension of about £15,981. In England, the same pay and assumptions would build about £21,985 a year, because the accrual fraction is larger.

None of this includes legacy service, pay growth, early retirement reductions, tax, or the remedy, and revaluation will not be a steady 3%. It shows the mechanism: pay ÷ 61.6, revalue, add, then decide how much to exchange. Your SPPA statement and quotation give the real figures.

Modellers, quotations and what to do next

SPPA’s ‘Keep track of your pension’ page reports that the Remedy Calculator has been updated but that the Firefighters’ Pension Modeller remained temporarily unavailable while revised factors were tested, with SPPA expecting it by the end of October 2026 and offering to answer queries directly in the meantime. Since availability changes, check the page rather than assuming the tool is live.

In the meantime, you can model your Scottish pension with a general CARE tool if you enter 61.6 as the accrual rate and use your own pensionable pay and contribution band. It will not reflect remedy choices, transfers or added pension, so treat it as a rough guide and compare with SPPA’s figures once the official modeller returns.

1. Register for Engage, SPPA’s online portal, and confirm your contact details are current.
2. Download your latest annual benefit statement or ABS-RSS and note the date of its figures (31 March).
3. Check your contribution rate against the SPPA table and your payslip.
4. If you have pre-2015 service, confirm which legacy sections you hold and your protected pension age.
5. Request a formal retirement quotation from SPPA at least six months before any planned retirement.