Taper Protected members of FPS 1992

How do I know if I am taper protected?

You are taper protected if you are a member of the FPS 1992 and were born between 2 April 1967 and 1 April 1971.

What does that mean for me?

You will have a taper protection date which is personal to you. At your taper date, you will move to the FPS 2015. Your existing FPS 1992 pension rights will not transfer with you, and they will remain fully protected in the FPS 1992 . If your taper protection date falls after you choose to retire, you will not move to the FPS 2015.

When can I access my pension?

Unless you retire before transferring to the FPS 2015, you will have pension rights in both FPS 1992 and FPS 2015. This means that you will have a ‘two part’ pension.

Part 1 – The first part of your pension remains fully protected in FPS 1992 and can be taken on retirement from age 50 if you have completed 25 or more years’ pensionable service. Your service in FPS 2015 will also count towards your 25 year total. Your FPS 1992 pension will still be calculated on your final salary at retirement and you will continue to have access to the same commutation rights.

Part 2 – The second part of your pension is built up in the FPS 2015. If you continue as an active member, this can be taken: from age 55 with a reduction, at age 60 without any reduction, or after age 60 with a pension enhancement. If you leave service before being entitled to take your FPS 2015 pension, it will come into payment in full at your state pension age.

Will I lose out on double accrual in the FPS 1992?

There will be an enhancement to your protected FPS 1992 pension to reflect the double accrual on the service you have already built up. Firefighters who complete 30 years’ pensionable service (in total) before retiring will have each year of their FPS 1992 service converted to 45ths (2.2%) from 60ths (1.67%).

Why will my FPS 2015 pension be reduced?

The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 requires the normal pension age to be age 60 and pension taken before that to be reduced. The table below sets out the reduction to your FPS 2015 pension only; your FPS 1992 pension will be taken unreduced:

Age 55 56 57 58 59
Percentage reduction 21.3% 17.7% 13.7% 9.5% 4.9%

What pension will I get at retirement?

As explained earlier, you will receive a two part pension. The first will be based on your FPS 1992 service (including double accrual) and your average pensionable pay at the date you retire. The second part will be a CARE pension built up under the rules of FPS 2015. There is no cap on the amount of pension that can be earned in the FPS 2015. Firefighters who transfer from FPS 1992 to FPS 2015 will be able to build up a bigger pension if they choose to work for longer than 30 years.

What contributions will I be paying?

You will continue to pay the FPS 1992 contribution rate until your taper date.

Contribution rates for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 are as follows:

Contribution Table 2021/22
Pensionable pay Contribution rate 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022
Up to and including £15,609 11.0%
More than £15,609 and up to and including £21,852 12.2%
More than £21,852 and up to and including £31,218 14.2%
More than £31,218 and up to and including £41,624 14.7%
More than £41,624 and up to and including £52,030 15.2%
More than £52,030 and up to and including £62,436 15.5%
More than £62,436 and up to and including £104,060 16.0%
More than £104,060 and up to and including £124,872 16.5%
More than £124,872 17.0%

After your taper date, you will join the FPS 2015 and pay a lower rate of contributions. Details of the current rates can be found at how much do I pay?

Opting out

Be aware that opting out or not joining FPS 2015 has long-term implications and members should not make any such decision until they are aware of all the implications.

As an FPS 1992 member you would not be able to re-join that scheme and your benefits would be paid at deferred pension age (60), instead of your eligible retirement date as an active member.

Anyone who is considering opting out should take independent financial advice.

Withdrawing pension savings

From April 2015, people aged over 55 with defined contribution pension savings are able to withdraw those savings, subject to their marginal rate of taxation and scheme rules. As the Firefighters' Pension Scheme is a defined benefit public sector pension scheme, the change in the rules that allowed this could not be directly applied to the scheme.

From 6 April 2015 transfers out from defined benefit public sector pension schemes (such as the Firefighters' Pension Scheme) to defined contribution schemes are no longer possible.

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