The rules, in English

These are not the same day. Last day of service is the last day you are employed. The retirement date is the next calendar day — that is the first day the pension is paid.

Age, commutation factors and “can I retire at 50 / 55?” use the retirement date. Service is counted up to last day of service. The calculator date box is last day of service; it always shows the retirement date underneath.

Old final-salary scheme. Closed to new joiners from April 2006. Official accrual is 1/60 of final pay for each of the first 20 years, then 2/60 for years 21 to 30. That is a cap of 40/60 — two-thirds of pay — at 30 years.

A flat 1/45ths shortcut only matches that cap at 30 years. Before then it overstates the pension.

You can retire at 55, or at 50 if you have 25 years in. You can trade up to a quarter of the pension for a lump. Under 55 with under 30 years the lump is capped at 2.25 × the pension. The factor is your age in years and months on the retirement date (GAD England table from May 2026).

Most 1992 members now have split service: 1992 years, then 2015. The double-accrual guarantee stops you losing the extra 60ths you would have earned after year 20 if 1992 had stayed open.

The formula is (A ÷ 60) × (B ÷ C) × final pay. A is the 60ths you would have had if 1992 had continued (capped at 40). B is the years actually spent in 1992. C is total years in 1992 and 2015. The calculator uses this by default.

HMRC treat a defined-benefit pension as worth 20 times the yearly amount left after commutation. The tax-free lump cannot be more than 25% of (lump + 20 × residual pension), and cannot be more than your lump-sum allowance (usually £268,275).

Because 1992 commutation factors are above 20, the scheme maximum is often bigger than the tax-free maximum. The calculator defaults to the tax-free figure. You can take the extra. That extra is taxed at your marginal income-tax rate. 2015 and 2006 use £12 per £1, so they stay inside the HMRC 25% test.

Final salary for people who joined from April 2006 to March 2015. 1/60th of pay per year. Normal pension age 60. You can retire from 55 with a cut. Lump is £12 for each £1 you give up.

Modified (retained) members get 1/45th and a normal pension age of 55.

Career average. Each year banks 1/59.7 of that year’s pay. The pot is revalued with average earnings while you are still serving. Normal pension age 60. From 55 there is a cut. At 60 there is no cut. If last day of service is before 55 the pot waits, and taking it early costs more.

The calculator uses the GAD Fire_E active early-retirement table issued 10 July 2026. At 55 years 0 months the cut is 20.8% (you keep 79.2%). It tapers to nothing at 60.

The age-discrimination remedy (judges: McCloud; firefighters: Sargeant). If you were in on 31 March 2012 and you served between April 2015 and March 2022, you get a pick at the retirement date: count those years in the old scheme or in 2015. From April 2022 everyone is in 2015.

Some members had tapered protection — a later close date than April 2015, based on date of birth. That is why the case was brought. The calculator uses the official taper table in the “if the remedy had been lost” comparison.