How the firefighter pension calculator works
The English Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 (FPS 2015) is a career average revalued earnings scheme, usually shortened to CARE. For every scheme year, an amount equal to 1/59.7 of your pensionable pay is credited to your pension account. On £40,358, the competent firefighter rate from 1 July 2026, that is £676.01 of annual pension for the year. Divided out, it is roughly £16.75 of annual pension for every £1,000 of pensionable pay. Nothing in FPS 2015 depends on your final salary, so a promotion late in your career lifts only the years spent at the higher pay.
Each 1 April the pension already in your active pension account is revalued. For serving members that revaluation follows average weekly earnings through a Treasury order, and the figure for April 2026 was 4.8%. Pensions in payment and deferred pensions are increased by CPI instead, which was 3.8% from 6 April 2026. The calculator follows the order used in the official LGA examples: the opening balance is multiplied by one plus the revaluation, then the new year's pension is added. You choose the revaluation, pay growth and inflation rates yourself, because a rate that applied in one year says little about the next.
You can start from a statement figure or let the calculator estimate the pension you have built so far from your years of service, pay and assumptions. Then it runs forward to your planned retirement age, year by year, and draws the accrual chart above: the pension you would have if you retired at each age. It also shows the same figure in today's money, so a pension in thirty years' time can be compared with what you earn now.
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are different
Firefighter pensions are devolved, and the four nations run their own FPS 2015. The accrual rate is one difference; normal pension age and contributions are others. The calculator changes the accrual, retirement age, early-retirement factors and contribution rate when you pick a nation.
FPS 2015 by nation| Nation | Accrual | Normal pension age | Member contribution rates | Pension added by £25,000 of pay |
|---|
| England | 1/59.7 | 60 | 11.09% to 17.09% in five bands from 1 April 2026 | £418.76 |
| Wales | 1/61.4 | 60 | 13.0% to 14.5% by grade tier from 1 September 2025 | £407.17 |
| Scotland | 1/61.6 | 60 | 11.73% to 15.23% in four bands (SPPA) | £405.84 |
| Northern Ireland | 1/64.8 | 55 | 11.71% to 17.71% in five bands (HSC Pension Service) | £385.80 |
England moved to five contribution bands on actual pensionable pay from 1 April 2026. Wales sets contributions by substantive grade rather than pay band: 13.0% for firefighters, retained and volunteer members, 13.2% for crew and watch managers, 13.7% for station and group managers, 14.2% for area managers and 14.5% for assistant, deputy and chief fire officers. The Northern Ireland page prints its first band boundary with a typo, so its £36,130 figure is inferred; you can overwrite any rate in the calculator.
What counts as pensionable pay
Pensionable pay is not everything on your payslip. According to the official member website it includes pay for performing the duties of your role, permanent elements such as a retained firefighter's retaining allowance, amounts given up under salary sacrifice, and continued professional development payments where the authority has determined they are pensionable. Temporary allowances are not pensionable. Enter your annual full-time pensionable pay, and check any allowance in writing with your administrator rather than assuming that anything taxable is pensionable. For the London Fire Brigade, which has its own pay scale, the pay picker offers the LFB figures instead of the NJC rates.
Worked examples you can check
The table applies the English formula to £40,358 of pensionable pay in every year, ignoring promotion and legacy service. Type the same numbers into the calculator with zero pay growth and you will get the same answers. The gap between the columns shows why revaluation matters as much as years served.
Annual pension at 60, England FPS 2015 only, constant £40,358 pay| Years of service | 0% revaluation | 3% revaluation | 4.8% revaluation |
|---|
| 20 years | £13,520 | £18,165 | £21,886 |
| 25 years | £16,900 | £24,647 | £31,389 |
| 30 years | £20,280 | £32,162 | £43,401 |
These figures are illustrative: 3% and 4.8% are assumptions, not forecasts, and real pay usually rises with the pay award, so real accounts are normally larger than a flat-pay model. The same pay in another nation builds less each year, so a Welsh firefighter with 30 years at no revaluation reaches about £19,719 instead of £20,280.
Legacy service: FPS 1992 and FPS 2006
If you joined before 1 April 2015 you may hold a final-salary slice as well as FPS 2015. Choose the schemes you hold and enter your legacy years. The FPS 1992 scheme pays 1/60 of average pensionable pay for each of the first 20 years and 2/60 for years 21 to 30, so 30 years reaches 40/60, two-thirds of pay. The double accrual guarantee protects members who moved to FPS 2015: the pension is (fraction for total service capped at 30) × (years in FPS 1992 ÷ total years) × pay. The official example is 22 years in FPS 1992 plus 8 in FPS 2015 on £30,000, which gives 40/60 × 22/30 × £30,000 = £14,666.67. The FPS 2006 scheme pays 1/60 of final pensionable pay per year, up to 45 years, with no double accrual.
Legacy slices are calculated on your projected final pay at retirement. The calculator does not model retained-duty (special member) service, part-time adjustments to legacy service, added pension, transfers in or pension sharing orders.
The McCloud remedy in the calculator
Members who were in service on or before 31 March 2012 and again on or after 1 April 2015 are covered by the age discrimination remedy. For the remedy period, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, you will choose between legacy and FPS 2015 benefits, normally at retirement, and you do not need to make a claim. Enter your remedy years and the calculator shows the pension under both options and the better one, or lets you force either choice. It compares annual pension at retirement only: lump sums, reductions, contribution adjustments and interest can change which is better for you, and your remediable service statement is the official comparison. The premium Pension Command includes a checklist and a ready-to-send request for your administrator.
Early retirement before 60
An active FPS 2015 member can draw the pension from 55 with an actuarial reduction, which is permanent. The LGA's November 2023 factsheet shows English reductions of 20% at 55, 16.6% at 56, 12.9% at 57, 8.9% at 58 and 4.6% at 59. The Welsh figures from the same annex are lower: 12.7%, 10.5%, 8.2%, 5.7% and 2.9%. Northern Ireland's normal pension age is 55, so no reduction applies from 55 in the calculator. For Scotland the calculator uses the Government Actuary's Department factors dated 27 November 2019, which may have been superseded, and it says so on screen. Factors are reviewed periodically, so ask your administrator for the factor and its date before you decide. The FPS 2006 slice normally carries a reduction before 60, but we have no verified factor for it, so you enter the reduction from your quotation instead.
Lump sum, tax and State Pension
You can give up part of your pension for a tax-free lump sum: up to 25% of the pension, at £12 for each £1 given up in FPS 2006 and FPS 2015, or an age-based GAD factor in FPS 1992. Giving up £4,000 of a £16,000 pension gives £48,000 and leaves £12,000 a year. The lump sum allowance is £268,275 for most people, and the HMRC 25% test can bind lower where a 1992 factor is above 20. The calculator shows the maximum lump sum and the pension left. The premium version adds the break-even age and a running-total chart.
Pension income is taxable, and no National Insurance is paid on it. The State Pension cannot be claimed until State Pension age, which is 66 rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and planned to reach 68 from 2044 under current law. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (about £12,548 a year) in 2026/27, and needs 35 qualifying years. The scheme guides we reviewed describe no bridging pension, so the years between a retirement at 55 or 60 and State Pension age are yours to fund.
How we calculate your result, step by step
- Pay and years. Your pensionable pay is projected forward at the pay growth you choose. Each year's pension credit is that year's pensionable pay divided by your nation's accrual figure (1/59.7 England, 1/61.4 Wales, 1/61.6 Scotland, 1/64.8 Northern Ireland), per the LGA's FPS member site.
- Revaluation. Each 1 April the balance is revalued, then the new year's credit is added. This order reproduces the LGA's official worked examples. Revaluation for April 2026 was 4.8% in England and the other nations publish their own circulars (SPPA 2026/02).
- Legacy service. FPS 1992 and FPS 2006 slices use final pay, with the double accrual guarantee for FPS 1992 (LGA FPS 1992 page).
- Early retirement. Reductions before 60 come from the LGA retirement factsheet. Where we have no verified factor, the calculator says so rather than guessing.
- Lump sum and tax. £12 of lump sum per £1 of pension given up in FPS 2006 and 2015, the HMRC 25% test and the £268,275 lump sum allowance; 2026/27 income tax for take-home.
- Today's money. Future amounts are divided by your inflation assumption so a pension in thirty years can be compared with pay now.
Every assumption is yours to change, and the calculator never hides a constant it cannot verify.
Am I on track? How to read the gap meter
Pick a target income in retirement. A common starting point is around two-thirds to 70% of your pay today, but a firefighter with no mortgage and a full State Pension may need less, and someone supporting family may need more. The calculator compares your target with your scheme pension in today's money and, if you include it, the State Pension. Because State Pension does not start until 66 to 68, it shows both the years between retirement and State Pension age, when only the scheme pension is paid, and the period afterwards. A gap is shown in pounds a year, with three levers worked out from your own numbers: retiring later, paying more attention to pay growth, and the effect of a promotion. Each lever is a fresh projection with a single input changed, so you can see how much it really moves the answer.
Treat the gap as a planning signal, not a verdict: your annual benefit statement, any McCloud remedy choice, savings outside the scheme and your partner's pension all change the picture.
Death in service and survivor benefits
In the English FPS 2015, a death grant of three times final pay is paid if a member dies in service, and a survivor's pension for a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner is half the pension in payment, calculated after any lump sum is taken, with a reduction of 2.5% for each year the partner is more than 12 years younger, capped at 50%. If you die within five years of retiring, the balance of five years' pension payments is paid. These figures come from the LGA's FPS member website as summarised in our death benefits guide. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland multiples differ or could not be verified, so check with your administrator.
What is free and what is in Pension Command
This calculator is free, and the headline answer needs no sign-up: projected pension, today's-money value, the on-track check, three retirement ages, the maximum lump sum and a printable one-page summary. A free account lets you save a result and come back to it. Pension Command is a one-off £39 payment (VAT included, no subscription) for the decisions that follow: a ranked list of your biggest levers in pounds, the earliest retirement age that meets your target take-home, a full 55 to 67 age grid, scenarios and four saved plans, lump-sum break-even, income across retirement, survivor benefits, a statement reality check, a McCloud checklist, AI questions on your own figures and a printable briefing. The table under the calculator sets out the difference line by line.
What this calculator does not do
- It is not a quote. Your annual benefit statement and your administrator's written quotation control the real figures.
- It does not use your pay history: it projects forward from today's pay and your growth assumption.
- It does not model ill-health retirement, death benefits, divorce, pension sharing, added pension, transfers, retained-duty legacy schemes or Northern Ireland legacy service.
- It applies no late-retirement uplift beyond 60: it assumes you keep working and building pension.
- Tax is 2026/27, assumes the pension is your only income, and holds thresholds fixed in today's money.
Guides to read next
The lump sum calculator and Pension Command go deeper.
Firefighter pension calculator FAQ
How do I calculate my firefighter pension?
In the English FPS 2015, divide each year's pensionable pay by 59.7 and add the result to your pension account. Each 1 April the existing balance is revalued by an earnings-based Treasury figure (4.8% in April 2026). Add the years together and the total is your annual pension at normal pension age 60. Wales uses 1/61.4, Scotland 1/61.6 and Northern Ireland 1/64.8. Legacy FPS 1992 and FPS 2006 service is calculated separately on final pay.
How much pension will I get after 25 years as a firefighter?
It depends on pay, revaluation and legacy service. In a simple English FPS 2015 example with £40,358 of pensionable pay every year, 25 years builds £16,900 a year with no revaluation and about £24,647 a year with 3% revaluation. Your annual benefit statement and your administrator's quotation give the figure that counts.
What is the firefighter pension accrual rate?
The FPS 2015 accrual rate is 1/59.7 in England, 1/61.4 in Wales, 1/61.6 in Scotland and 1/64.8 in Northern Ireland. The FPS 1992 scheme builds 1/60 of average pensionable pay for the first 20 years and 2/60 for years 21 to 30, and the FPS 2006 scheme builds 1/60 a year.
At what age can a firefighter retire?
In FPS 2015 the normal pension age is 60 in England, Wales and Scotland and 55 in Northern Ireland. You can draw an FPS 2015 pension from 55 with a permanent early-retirement reduction. FPS 1992 has a normal pension age of 55, or 50 with 25 years' service for members with a protected pension age. FPS 2006 is 60, from 55 with a reduction.
How much is the early-retirement reduction?
For active English FPS 2015 members the LGA factsheet of November 2023 shows 20% at 55, 16.6% at 56, 12.9% at 57, 8.9% at 58 and 4.6% at 59. Welsh members have lower factors: 12.7% at 55 falling to 2.9% at 59. Factors are reviewed periodically, so ask your administrator for a current figure before you decide.
Does McCloud affect my firefighter pension?
It can. If you were in pensionable service on or before 31 March 2012, served between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 and had no break of five years or more, you will choose between legacy and FPS 2015 benefits for that period, normally at retirement. No claim is needed. This calculator lets you enter remedy years and shows the better option on your assumptions, but your remediable service statement is the official comparison.
Can I take a lump sum from my firefighter pension?
Yes. In FPS 2006 and FPS 2015 you can exchange up to 25% of your pension for a tax-free lump sum at £12 for each £1 of pension given up. FPS 1992 uses an age-based GAD factor. Tax rules and the £268,275 lump sum allowance can limit the amount. The calculator shows the maximum lump sum and the pension left.
What contribution rate do I pay?
In England the FPS 2015 rate runs from 11.09% to 17.09% in five bands from 1 April 2026. Scotland has four bands from 11.73% to 15.23%. Wales sets a rate by grade tier, from 13.0% for firefighters to 14.5% for the top three officer grades, since 1 September 2025. Northern Ireland bands run from 11.71% to 17.71%. You can overwrite the rate in the calculator.
Is the pension based on my final salary?
Not for FPS 2015, which is career average: each year's pension is based on pay in that year and then revalued. Only the FPS 1992 and FPS 2006 legacy slices are based on final pay, and only for service in those schemes. The calculator handles both parts.
Am I on track for retirement as a firefighter?
Set a target income, for example 70% of your pay today in today's money, and compare it with your projected pension plus State Pension. The calculator shows both, with a gap meter and the three levers that close any gap: retiring later, faster pay growth or a promotion. 70% is a starting point, not a rule, so use the figure that matches the life you plan.
How much State Pension will I get as a firefighter?
The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (about £12,548 a year) in 2026/27 and needs 35 qualifying National Insurance years; the minimum is 10 years. Firefighters were contracted out of the additional State Pension until 5 April 2016, so use your own GOV.UK forecast rather than assuming the full amount. State Pension age is 66 rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and planned to reach 68 from 2044 under current law.
What is the difference between the free calculator and Pension Command?
The free calculator gives your projected pension, the on-track check, three retirement ages, the maximum lump sum and a one-page summary you can print. Pension Command (£39 once, no subscription) adds a ranked readiness check, the earliest retirement age for your target take-home, a full age grid, scenarios and saved plans, lump-sum break-even, income across retirement, survivor benefits for England, a statement reality check, a McCloud checklist, unlimited AI questions and a printable briefing.
Is this an official pension quote?
No. It is an independent illustration using published scheme rules and your assumptions. Your annual benefit statement and your administrator's written quotation are the official figures, and they will differ because they use your actual pay history, transfers, added pension and remedy service.