How do I know if I am unprotected?
You are unprotected if you were a member of the FPS 1992 and were under the age of 41 on 1 April 2012.
What does that mean for me?
On 1 April 2015, you moved to the FPS 2015. Your existing FPS 1992 pension rights did not transfer with you, and they will remain fully protected in FPS 1992.
When can I access my pension?
As you will have pension rights in both FPS 1992 and FPS 2015 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?
The contribution rates for FPS 2015 are set out under the how much do I pay? section.
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.
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.