Central government pensions

There are a number of pension schemes which operate within the central government sector in England and Wales.

The largest schemes are:

•
the NHS Pension Scheme
•
the Teachers’ Pension Scheme
•
the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

All three schemes are unfunded statutory public service pension schemes.

In addition to the three largest schemes, there are also a range of other schemes operating within the sector, including:

•
the Armed Forces Pension Scheme
•
the Police Pension Scheme
•
the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund for MPs

For information on public sector pension schemes in Scotland, see Practice Note: Public sector pension schemes in England and Scotland—key differences.

The NHS Pension Scheme

The NHS Pension Scheme (NHSPS) is a multi-employer, unfunded, defined benefit (DB) public service occupational pension scheme for employees of the NHS in England and Wales. The scheme rules are set and amended by statutory instrument.

The NHSPS was reformed over time and different rules apply to members depending on when they joined.

Members who joined the NHSPS before 1 April 2008 participated in the ‘1995 section’ which provides final salary

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Public Law News

Weekly roundup of HMRC import, export and customs guidance—31 March 2025

Details of updates to HMRC import, export and customs guidance for the period from 25 to 31 March 2025.

Reminder: Judicial review court fees increasing from 8 April 2025

In February 2025, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced increases to 171 court and tribunal fees to reflect Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes between March 2023 and March 2024, including increases to the fees applicable for judicial review. Certain fee changes are made to align fees relating to judicial review processes in the civil courts and in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal. The updated fees apply for applications received by the court/tribunal on or after 8 April 2025.

Cabinet Office issues SI to revoke legacy procurement regulations

The Cabinet Office has issued the Public Procurement (Revocation) Regulations 2025, revoking four items of assimilated procurement law in its entirety and one partially. The statutory instrument (SI) fully revokes three European Commission decisions on utilities procurement and one Commission Implementing Regulation on procurement forms, while partially revoking regulations related to previous procurement rules.

JCSI publishes nineteenth report of 2024–2025 scrutinising Statutory Instruments

The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI) has published its nineteenth report of Session 2024–2025, scrutinising statutory instruments (SIs) made in exercise of powers granted by Act of Parliament. Instruments not laid before Parliament are included within the JCSI’s remit, but local instruments and instruments made by devolved administrations are not considered by JCSI, unless they are required to be laid before Parliament. The role of the JCSI, whose membership is drawn from both Houses of Parliament, is to assess the technical qualities of each instrument that falls within its remit and to decide whether to draw the special attention of each House to any instrument. As its meeting on 26 March 2025, the JCSI scrutinised a number of instruments in accordance with Standing Orders. It was agreed that the special attention of both Houses should be drawn to none of those considered.