Scottish public sector pensions: NHS, teachers and other schemes

Public sector pensions in Scotland are run separately from the schemes covering the same professions in England and Wales. NHS staff, teachers, police officers, firefighters, civil servants and local government workers in Scotland belong to their own schemes, administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) on behalf of Scottish Ministers, with their own contribution rates, rules and consultations. The NHS Scotland Pension Scheme builds up a pension at 1/54th of your pensionable earnings each year, with members contributing between 5.7% and 12.7% of pensionable pay depending on earnings, and employers contributing 22.5%¹.

The schemes are defined benefit pensions: your pension is worked out from your pay and years of service, not from investment returns. The NHS Scotland Pension Scheme 2015 replaced the previous schemes on 1 April 2015 and accrues benefits on a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) basis, meaning each year's pension is based on that year's pay and then revalued over time¹. You are automatically enrolled from the start of your NHS Scotland employment, though membership is not compulsory and you can opt out if you choose¹.

How the NHS Scotland Pension Scheme works: 1/54th of pay for each year

For each year you are a member of the 2015 Scheme, you build up a pension equal to 1/54th of your pensionable earnings for that year. That amount is then revalued each year in line with inflation, so the pension you earned early in your career keeps its value relative to prices. This is the career average (CARE) approach, and it differs from the older final salary approach, where the whole pension was based on your pay in your final year¹.

The scheme replaced two earlier arrangements, which still matter for members who were in them. The 1995 section of the NHS Superannuation Scheme gave a pension worth 1/80th of your final year's pensionable pay for each year of membership, with a normal pension age of 60. The 2008 section gave 1/60th of your reckonable pay for each year of service, with a normal pension age of 65, and closed to new members from 1 April 2015, when all new NHS employees joined the 2015 Scheme¹. In the 2015 Scheme, your normal pension age is the same as your State Pension Age, or whichever is the later of State Pension Age or 65¹.

You qualify to receive benefits once you have contributed continuously for two calendar years, and after two years' service you are entitled to a pension payable for life when you retire¹. Members of the 2008 section also have the option to exchange part of their pension benefits for a cash lump sum at retirement, in a process known as commutation¹.

Once in payment, your pension is increased each year. The increase to NHS Scotland pensions from April 2026 is 3.8%, applied from Monday 6 April 2026. The amount of any increase is announced by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the draft Pensions Increase (Review) Order, which is approved by the UK Parliament in March².

Member contribution rates: from 5.7% to 12.7% of pensionable pay

What you pay depends on your pensionable earnings, assessed against a set of earnings bands. In the 2025/2026 tables, the rates run from 5.7% on pensionable earnings up to £13,330 to 12.7% on earnings of £80,026 and above¹. The full set of bands for 2025/2026 is:

¹

The tiered structure was introduced through regulations that took effect from 1 October 2023, with a second year of phasing from 1 October 2024. The reformed tables assess employed members' contribution rates on where their actual pensionable pay falls within seven pensionable earnings bands⁴. Two changes in the reform matter particularly to part-time staff. First, the tiered rate for part-time members is assessed on their actual annual rate of pay rather than a notional whole-time equivalent, so a part-timer is not pushed into a higher tier by hours they do not work. Second, a discounted rate was introduced for members earning less than £13,331 a year, to keep the scheme affordable for low earners. Around 40% of the membership work part-time, and most pay less as a result of the reform⁴.

The rates are set so that members collectively contribute 9.8% of pensionable pay across the whole scheme⁴. That yield has a history: it rose from 6.6% to 9.8%, phased in over the three years from 2012/2013 to 2014/2015, and in Scotland, but not in England and Wales, a further 0.2% was added to each contribution tier to allow for the cost of the scheme's arrangements⁴. Over the three years to 2023, the contribution yield from the scheme dropped from 9.6% to around 9.3%, which is why rates needed to rise again⁴.

A scheme year runs from 1 April to 31 March each year⁴, and the 2015 Scheme's in-service revaluation date changed from 1 April to 6 April each year with effect from the financial year commencing 6 April 2023, aligning it with the tax year⁴.

What your employer pays in: 22.5% of pensionable pay

Your employer contributes an amount equal to 22.5% of your pensionable pay into the scheme on your behalf¹. That is the current rate; when the contribution reform was consulted on in 2023, employers contributed 20.9% of each member's pensionable pay towards the cost of scheme benefits⁴, so the employer rate has risen since.

The employer contribution is not deducted from your pay and does not reduce your own contribution. It is the health board or other NHS employer's payment towards the collective cost of the scheme's benefits, set through actuarial valuation. For members, the practical significance is that the total cost of the defined benefit promise is shared: your tiered contribution buys a pension worked out by formula, and the employer's 22.5% underwrites the rest of the cost, including the revaluation of each year's accrual¹.

Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme: contributions and thresholds

The Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS) has its own contribution framework, agreed separately from the NHS scheme. Under the STPS framework agreement, members are required collectively to contribute 9.6% of pensionable pay across the whole scheme membership⁵. Following the scheme's valuation, a single multiplier of 1.0202 was added to existing contribution rates from 1 April 2024, under CPI indexation⁵. The contribution tier thresholds were increased from 1 April 2024 using the September 2023 CPI rate of 6.7%, and the preference is to continue to increase the thresholds annually in line with CPI, with one exception: the thresholds for the top contribution tiers, covering earnings of £67,976 and above, are not increased and remain fixed for the implementation period 2024 to 2027⁵.

On the employer side, the valuation confirmed that the employer contribution rate increases to 26.0% from 1 April 2024⁵. For the STPS valuation, the full 3% increase is a consequence of changes to the SCAPE discount rate, the rate used to value public service pension liabilities⁵.

The scheme's structure mirrors the NHS story. The Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme, known as the legacy scheme, closed to all members for future service from 31 March 2022, and all scheme members, regardless of transitional protections, who continued in service from 1 April 2022 did so as members of the 2015 Scheme⁶. The rules differ between the two in ways that matter to returning pensioners: pension abatement applies to legacy scheme members who have taken their benefits and return to work as a teacher, but abatement does not apply in the reformed scheme⁶. Service rules also differ. In the legacy scheme, part-time employment held simultaneously with full-time pensionable employment was not pensionable; under the reformed scheme all service is pensionable, including excess teaching employment⁶.

The McCloud remedy: choosing between legacy and reformed scheme benefits

The McCloud remedy, also called the 2015 Remedy, follows a court ruling on age discrimination in the 2014 to 2015 public service pension reforms. UK-wide legislation, the Public Services Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, now gives affected members a choice between legacy and reformed scheme benefits for a defined remedy period. The taxation of the remedy has its own legislation, introduced to ensure the pensions tax framework applies as intended to the public service pension reform remedy⁷. The same approach applies across the UK's public service schemes: the Civil Service remedy regulations, for example, give affected members a choice of their benefits from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, selecting either legacy (PCSPS) or reformed (alpha) benefits for that period⁸.

In Scotland, the remedy period for the NHS and Teachers' schemes is 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022⁹. Members with remediable service in that period will receive a remediable service statement (RSS) setting out what their benefits would be under each set of rules, and can then choose which to take. Where a member has already taken their benefits, the remedy works retrospectively: the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) draft regulations, for instance, include a section describing how the remedy has effect retrospectively where members have already taken benefits through a pension or in another way¹⁰.

The choice is between two different benefit designs, and which is better depends on your own earnings history. Legacy benefits were generally final salary linked, so they suit members whose pay rose steeply late in their career; reformed CARE benefits suit members whose pay was flat or falling, since each year is revalued rather than tied to final pay. The remedy does not change the fact that both options are defined benefit pensions: the Police Pension Scheme (Scotland) consultation describes the model as offering "the security of a guaranteed income in every year of retirement"¹¹.

Deadlines for your remedy choice and what happens to past contributions

The deadlines differ between an immediate choice (IC) and a deferred choice (DC). For an eligible decision-maker making an IC, the time limit is no later than one year from the issue of the RSS, a period set by the Act itself so it cannot be varied⁹. For the NHS scheme, the proposed DC election period for an eligible member is three months from when the RSS is issued, while the DC election period for an eligible decision-maker is set at 12 weeks from the date the RSS was issued⁹. For the Teachers' scheme, the DC election period for an eligible decision-maker is proposed at 12 months from the date the RSS was issued⁶.

The remedy period, the remediable service statement and the choice windows, in order.

Your past contributions are adjusted to match the choice. For the NHS scheme, provision is made for the return or recovery of overpaid or underpaid contributions for unprotected and tapered protected members who had breaks in pensionable service within scheme years during the remedy period after joining the reformed scheme⁹. Where more than one overpayment or underpayment arising from the remedy occurs at once, the scheme manager must net off the amounts in accordance with the PSP Directions 2022 and provide an explanation of the calculation⁹. Interest is part of the machinery: the regulations make provision for the calculation and application of interest on amounts owed to or from the scheme as a result of the remedy, with the interest rates determined by the PSP Directions 2022⁹. Amounts owed by an eligible member may be reduced or waived, though the use of these powers is expected to be limited to situations where the liability has arisen from an unavoidable consequence of the remedy⁹.

In the Police Pension Scheme (Scotland), a parallel remedy consultation proposes that affected officers get six months to decide whether to make an election from the date of their options letter, that no response within the election period is treated as a decision not to elect, and that any outstanding amount must be repaid in full no later than five years from the date of the options letter¹¹.

Transferring NHS or teachers' pension rights in or out

Transfers are affected by the remedy in several ways. For transfers out of the NHS scheme on or after 1 October 2023, the scheme must calculate two transfer values: one representing the legacy scheme accrual in the remedy period and another representing reformed scheme accrual. For Club transfers, both values are given to the receiving scheme and the highest of the two is paid to it; for non-Club CETV transfers, the highest value CETV should be used and that value paid to the receiving scheme⁹. Club transfers out completed before 1 October 2023 must be revisited to take account of the remediable service in the alternative scheme: the administrator will calculate the transfer value under both the legacy and reformed scheme, and if the value would have been higher under the alternative scheme, an additional amount will be paid to the receiving scheme where possible⁹. For transfers in from the private sector, there is no change to the amount of CETV receivable⁹.

The Teachers' scheme works similarly: for Club transfers to the Teachers' Pension Scheme, the sending scheme provides two transfer values (legacy and reformed accrual in the remedy period) and the transferring scheme pays the highest transfer value; for non-Club CETV transfers only one transfer CETV is sent⁶.

The wider right to transfer is UK-wide. Under Part 4ZA of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, and subject to certain conditions, members have a statutory right to transfer, as set out in the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021¹². Deadlines can be tight in the police scheme: you must apply for a transfer payment within six months of leaving Police employment or opting out of the Police scheme¹³.

If you leave with a short period of service, the treatment differs by scheme. Schemes such as NHS and Teachers' Pensions will generally offer to refund your contributions if you worked there for less than two years¹⁴. In the police scheme, if you contribute for more than two years your benefits are preserved for you when you leave, and if you have preserved benefits and are in Police employment in Scotland you can re-join the scheme at any time before your normal pension age¹³.

Members with multiple NHS employments have an administrative step to complete: if you have more than one employment contract, you must complete the form applicable to Assistant Practitioner and salaried GP Practitioners¹.

Partial retirement, ill-health and returning to work

Members of the 2008 section of the legacy NHS scheme and members of the reformed scheme are entitled to take a percentage of their benefits while continuing in employment, known as partial retirement, where certain qualifying conditions are met. Proposals consulted on in 2023 would extend this provision to members of the 1995 section from 1 October 2023⁹. Restrictions on retired and partially retired staff returning to NHS employment have been suspended since March 2020, and abatement for 2008 Section and 2015 Scheme members who have taken partial retirement was suspended until 31 March 2023, while abatement for Special Class Status holders in the 1995 Section would remain suspended until 31 March 2025⁴. Under the regulations, if a pensioner enters NHS employment of more than 16 hours per week, the pension must cease to be paid for a period, a rule the 2023 consultation proposed to change by giving effect to a change retrospectively from 1 April 2023 for 1995 Section pensioner members returning to NHS employment⁴.

Ill-health retirement has its own conditions. You may qualify to receive a pension if you have been employed for more than two years and you are permanently unable to work to normal pension age due to ill health or injury³. If you are awarded ill-health retirement but then return to NHS employment before your 50th birthday, you will be eligible to re-join the pension scheme³.

The remedy also touches ill-health cases. For ill-health applications made during the remedy period, the scheme manager is required, through Part 7 of the scheme regulations, to review the original application along with the supporting medical evidence and decide whether the member would have qualified for an ill-health pension in their alternative scheme. For IC members this review must be completed before the remediable service statement is sent, and for DC members as soon as practicable after 1 October 2023⁹.

Redundancy cases are handled too: where a redundancy pension in payment includes remediable service and the costs decrease, any overpaid redundancy payment (and/or additional contributions) will be refunded to the employer, who in turn will return this to the member⁹.

Other Scottish public service schemes

Beyond NHS and teachers, Scotland's main public service schemes include the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) (LGPS), the police and firefighters' schemes, and the civil service scheme. The LGPS is established by the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2018, made under the Public Services Pensions Act 2013, which consolidate the 2014 Regulations and set up a scheme for the payment of pensions and other benefits to or in respect of persons employed by scheme employers¹⁵. LGPS member contributions are banded: 5.5% on earnings up to and including £20,300, rising through 7.25%, 8.5% and 9.5% to 12% on earnings above £45,300¹⁵. An active member makes no contributions on or after the day before their 75th birthday¹⁵. A deferred member must have qualifying service of at least two years, no longer be an active member, not be receiving a pension under the scheme and not have reached age 75¹⁵.

The police scheme is a defined benefit scheme offering a guaranteed income in retirement, with revaluation of pensions reserved to the UK Government¹¹. A 2025 consultation on its regulations proposes, among other things, a retrospective option for officers previously deemed ineligible for ill-health benefits to establish full entitlement by paying the balance of contributions due, covering pension accrued up to 1 April 2025, with the option allowing the officer to pay up the 2.5% shortfall of contributions resulting from the reduced rate of 10.96% rather than 13.46%¹¹.

The LGPS is also being amended: a consultation running 12 weeks from 2 September 2025 to 25 November 2025 proposed allowing commutation of small pension pots for pre-2015 leavers, removing the age restriction on death grant eligibility backdated to 6 April 2011, transitional arrangements for members in certain education posts, and clarifying that a child's pension is only paid for the duration that a beneficiary is an eligible child¹⁶.

Proposed changes to the NHS scheme and how to have your say

Before making any changes to the regulations of any of the NHS Scotland pension schemes, Scottish Ministers are required by law to formally consult the people likely to be affected, or their representatives¹⁷. The current consultation, on the NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland): proposed changes from October 2026, runs from Wednesday 26 August 2026 to Wednesday 7 October 2026¹⁷. Responses are made using the consultation response form, sent to SPPA before midnight on the closing date, or by post to SPPA at Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels⁹.

Every change to the scheme's rules follows the same consultation route before it takes effect.

Past consultations show the range of subjects covered. The 2023 consultation on member contributions, which ran from 23 May 2023 to 15 August 2023, proposed replacing the existing contribution table with two new tables from 1 October 2023, the discounted rate for low earners, the part-time assessment change, and a power for the scheme manager to determine whether salary sacrifice schemes are pensionable. It also proposed allowing GPs to opt out of the scheme for individual employments without opting out of all employments, aligning final pay control rules with those in the England and Wales scheme including an increase in the allowable amount to CPI plus 7%, and replacing the twelve case descriptions in Schedule 9 with five new ones⁴. The 2015 Remedy consultation for the NHS scheme ran from 25 May 2023 to 23 July 2023⁹, and the equivalent Teachers' consultation from 23 May 2023 to 23 July 2023⁶. Earlier consultations covered retirement flexibilities, the continued suspension of return to work restrictions, and AVC regulations, with none held in 2024¹⁷.

Where to get help

SPPA administers the NHS, teachers, police and firefighters' pension schemes in Scotland and is the first point of contact for questions about your own record, your remediable service statement or a transfer. For the general rules on pensions, including how defined benefit schemes compare with defined contribution ones and how the state pension fits alongside workplace pensions, see the pensions guide. Because public service pensions in Scotland sit alongside other devolved arrangements, the Money in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland section explains where Scottish rules differ from those in England and Wales, including Scottish income tax and devolved benefits. If you have a complaint about how your pension has been administered, the public services ombudsmen page explains the independent complaint routes for public bodies in Scotland.