Compare, do not guess
Model 0%, 25% and the maximum for the same pension, or change retirement age or scheme, and see lump sum, reduced pension and break-even together on one chart.
See what your lump sum really costs before you commute.
Put retirement ages, commutation levels and schemes side by side, see them in today's money, work out what you would need to earn from the cash, and finish with a printable briefing and the exact questions to ask your administrator.
Understand it in real terms
Set your own inflation, pension-increase and growth assumptions to see what the cash and the income are worth in today's money, and how long the lump sum could last.
Arrive prepared
A printable briefing with your assumptions, a plain-English reading of your numbers and a saved checklist of what to request from your administrator.
Honest scope: this is an independent model, not a quote and not advice. It does not calculate your pension, early-retirement reductions or McCloud remedy benefits; you enter the annual pension your statement gives. The free calculator stays open to everyone and answers the single-scenario question.
What the report is for
Taking a lump sum is one of the biggest financial choices of a firefighter's career, and it is one you make once. You give up part of a pension that rises with inflation for the rest of your life in return for a cash sum today. The free lump-sum calculator answers the immediate question for one scenario: how much tax-free cash, what pension is left, and when does the trade break even. This report goes further by letting you hold several scenarios open at once, so the decision is a comparison rather than a single number.
The comparison matters because the answer changes with almost everything you can vary. In the 1992 scheme, the factor falls as you get older, from 22.6 at exactly 55 to 19.9 at exactly 60 for retirements from 21 May 2026, so waiting five years does not simply add five years of pension, it also lowers the exchange rate. In FPS 2006 and FPS 2015 the factor is a flat £12 for every £1, so the question is only how much to give up. Adding retirement age, scheme and commutation level together produces a grid of outcomes that no single calculation can show.
What would I need to earn, and what could I spend?
The report works backwards as well as forwards. Enter the cash you want (a deposit, a debt, a project) and it tells you how much pension you would give up to get it, or that it is more than the limits allow. It also asks a harder question: if you used the lump sum to replace the income you gave up, how long would it last, what return would it need to earn, and how much could you safely spend each year. These are arithmetic on your own assumptions, not forecasts, and they show plainly how valuable a guaranteed, index-linked pension is.
Real terms, not just cash
A lump sum is a fixed amount of cash while the pension you give up rises each year. To compare them fairly you need an assumption about inflation and about how quickly your pension increases. The report asks for both, and shows the lump sum and the reduced pension in today's money as well as in future pounds. It also shows where your total position stands at an age you choose, compared with taking no lump sum at all, so you can see how much of your decision depends on living to a particular age. You can set the growth on the lump sum to zero to be cautious, or to a rate you think you could achieve if you invest it. Those are your assumptions, not forecasts.
Tax limits, checked for you
Each scenario is tested against the three limits that decide whether a lump sum stays tax-free: the 25% scheme limit, the HMRC 25% test, and the lump sum allowance. In FPS 1992 at younger retirement ages the HMRC test can be tighter than 25% because the higher factors make a full quarter too large. The report shows the largest fraction that passes and flags scenarios that exceed the allowance you entered. It then explains, in plain English, how the annual allowance differs, because many firefighters confuse the two.
A written interpretation and a checklist
The report writes an interpretation that uses your own figures: the biggest lump sum, the cost in income, the break-even for each scenario and whether you would be ahead or behind at your chosen age. It is followed by a checklist of what to request from your administrator: your Annual Benefit Statement, a written quote showing the factor and its date, confirmation that the revised 1992 factors from 21 May 2026 are used, and, if you served across the remedy period, a Remediable Service Statement. Tick items off as you go and add your own notes. Your ticks and notes save in your browser, and you can save the whole briefing to your account.
Print, save or export
Use the print button to produce a clean briefing without site navigation, or choose save as PDF in your print dialog. The CSV export drops every scenario and assumption into a spreadsheet you can extend. An AI-written interpretation, generated only from your own figures, can be added to the briefing with one click. Everything is labelled as illustrative so nobody mistakes it for a scheme quote.
Honest limits
- It is not a quote and not financial, tax or legal advice. Your administrator's written quote and payroll records control.
- Verified factors are FPS 1992 (from 21 May 2026, England, used in Scotland through its underpin and matching the revised Welsh factors) and £12 per £1 for FPS 2006 and FPS 2015 in England. For other schemes, enter your quoted factor.
- It does not calculate your pension, early-retirement reductions or McCloud remedy benefits. You enter the annual pension your statement or quote gives.
- Break-even and long-term totals depend on your assumptions about inflation, increases and growth, and on how long you live.
Related guides and tools
Read the guide to firefighter pension lump sums and commutation, how to calculate your firefighter pension, the FPS 2015 guide and the McCloud remedy guide. Model future CARE pension with the free FPS 2015 calculator or the Pension Command workspace.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get for £14.99?
Up to six scenarios side by side, a today's-money view with your own inflation, pension-increase and growth assumptions, tax-limit checks, a what-would-I-need view that works backwards from a target lump sum, a printable briefing with an optional AI-written interpretation and an administrator question list that saves your ticks, saved reports in your account, a CSV export and unlimited AI questions grounded in your own numbers. It is one payment with no subscription.
Is this an official pension quote?
No. It is an independent modelling tool. Your scheme administrator's written quote and your payroll records control the real figures, and the report helps you ask better questions and check that quote.
Which schemes are covered?
FPS 1992 with the full age-based GAD factor table from 21 May 2026, and FPS 2006 and FPS 2015 for England at £12 per £1. For other schemes, including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 2006 and 2015 variants, you enter the factor from your administrator's quote.
Where is my data stored, and is any of it sent anywhere?
Your inputs, scenarios, checklist ticks and notes are stored in this browser. Nothing is sent to us unless you use the AI assistant (which reads your figures to answer) or save a briefing to your account. Analytics record coarse buckets only, never the amounts you type.
Can I compare different retirement ages?
Yes. Each scenario has its own scheme, retirement age, pension and commutation choice. Enter the pension your statement or quote shows for each age, because the pension usually differs by age.
Does it cover the McCloud remedy?
It does not calculate remedy benefits. You enter the annual pension your Remediable Service Statement or quote gives you for each choice, and the report compares them. The checklist tells you what to ask for.
Do I need an account, and can I use it on another device?
You can pay as a guest and use it straight away. Creating a free account afterwards keeps your access on every device and lets you save briefings. If something does not work, email us using the contact address in the footer and we will help.
Sources: SPPA circular 2026/03; Welsh Government W-FRSC(2026)09; GAD commutation guidance; FPS 2015 guide; GOV.UK lump sum allowances; GOV.UK pension scheme rates.