As a member of the FPS 2006 your pension contribution is a percentage of your pensionable pay as shown in the table below.
Contributions are deducted from your pay each month.
| Contribution Table 2021/22 | |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 |
| Up to and including £15,609 | 8.5% |
| More than £15,609 and up to and including £21,852 | 9.4% |
| More than £21,852 and up to and including £31,218 | 10.4% |
| More than £31,218 and up to and including £41,624 | 10.9% |
| More than £41,624 and up to and including £52,030 | 11.2% |
| More than £52,030 and up to and including £62,436 | 11.3% |
| More than £62,436 and up to and including £104,060 | 11.7% |
| More than £104,060 and up to and including £124,872 | 12.1% |
| More than £124,872 | 12.5% |
Contribution rates for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 are as follows:
| Contribution Table 2020/21 | |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 |
| Up to and including £15,609 | 8.5% |
| More than £15,609 and up to and including £21,852 | 9.4% |
| More than £21,852 and up to and including £31,218 | 10.4% |
| More than £31,218 and up to and including £41,624 | 10.9% |
| More than £41,624 and up to and including £52,030 | 11.2% |
| More than £52,030 and up to and including £62,436 | 11.3% |
| More than £62,436 and up to and including £104,060 | 11.7% |
| More than £104,060 and up to and including £124,872 | 12.1% |
| More than £124,872 | 12.5% |
Contribution rates for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 are as follows:
| Contribution Table 2019/20 | |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 |
| Up to and including £15,609 | 8.5% |
| More than £15,609 and up to and including £21,852 | 9.4% |
| More than £21,852 and up to and including £31,218 | 10.4% |
| More than £31,218 and up to and including £41,624 | 10.9% |
| More than £41,624 and up to and including £52,030 | 11.2% |
| More than £52,030 and up to and including £62,436 | 11.3% |
| More than £62,436 and up to and including £104,060 | 11.7% |
| More than £104,060 and up to and including £124,872 | 12.1% |
| More than £124,872 | 12.5% |
Contribution rates for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 are as follows:
| Contribution Table 2018/19 | |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 |
| Up to and including £15,609 | 8.5% |
| More than £15,609 and up to and including £21,852 | 9.4% |
| More than £21,852 and up to and including £31,218 | 10.4% |
| More than £31,218 and up to and including £41,624 | 10.9% |
| More than £41,624 and up to and including £52,030 | 11.2% |
| More than £52,030 and up to and including £62,436 | 11.3% |
| More than £62,436 and up to and including £104,060 | 11.7% |
| More than £104,060 and up to and including £124,872 | 12.1% |
| More than £124,872 | 12.5% |
Contribution rates for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 are as follows:
| Contribution Table 2017/18 | |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay | Contribution rate 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 |
| Up to and including £15,454 | 8.5% |
| More than £15,454 and up to and including £21,636 | 9.4% |
| More than £21,636 and up to and including £30,909 | 10.4% |
| More than £30,909 and up to and including £41,212 | 10.9% |
| More than £41,212 and up to and including £51,515 | 11.2% |
| More than £51,515 and up to and including £61,818 | 11.3% |
| More than £61,818 and up to and including £103,030 | 11.7% |
| More than £103,030 and up to and including £123,636 | 12.1% |
| More than £123,636 | 12.5% |
The pensionable pay used to work out your contribution rate is the amount paid for the duties of your role i.e. your basic pay and any pensionable allowances.
For part-time firefighters, the pension contribution rate is worked out by looking at the pay that would have been received if you were whole-time. But contributions are only deducted from the part-time pay received.
If there is a permanent material change to the terms and conditions of your employment which affects pensionable pay, the contribution rate must be reassessed from the date of the change.
Each month you pay contributions on your basic pay, any pensionable allowances, and certain payments which the FRA have discretion to treat as pensionable for providing Additional Pension Benefits, such as Continual Professional Development (CPD).
The FRA pays an employer’s contribution each month plus extra charges for ill-health awards and the cost of exercising certain discretions allowed under the scheme rules.
Employer contributions are calculated by the Scheme Actuary every four years. The current employer contribution rate for FPS 2006 is 27.4%.
Retained firefighters
For retained firefighters, the amount of pensionable pay used to work out the contribution rate is the firefighter's reference pay, i.e. the pay that would be paid to a whole-time regular firefighter employed in a similar role and with similar qualifying service.
The pensionable pay for retained firefighters is not always consistent with the pensionable pay of regular firefighters but in general, the main "constant" elements of pay are treated as pensionable. For example:
- annual retainer,
- disturbance payment,
- payment for work activity,
- and overtime.
And any items of pay which would not usually be treated as pensionable for regular firefighters, including certain reimbursements of expenditure, are treated as non-pensionable for retained firefighters, too.
Contributions for unpaid leave
During paid maternity, paternity or adoption leave you pay contributions on whatever rate of pay you receive. If a period of additional maternity, paternity or adoption leave is unpaid, you can choose to pay contributions on the rate you were receiving immediately before pay stopped (disregarding any “Keeping in Touch” days), if you wish to count that period as pensionable service.
If you have an unpaid period of absence for other reasons, you can choose to pay contributions based on the pay you would have received but for the absence in order to count the period as pensionable service. But, in this case, you would be asked to pay both the employee's and employer's contribution (at their discretion the FRA may agree to pay the employer's contribution for you).
Limited timescales may apply to these options and your employer can give you more information.