The NHS Pension Scheme covers around 1.9 million active members across the NHS in England and Wales, nurses, doctors, dentists, allied health professionals, ambulance staff, admin and management. It runs in three connected generations (1995, 2008 and 2015) plus the McCloud rollback that has put a chunk of every recent member’s service back into their legacy section.
Start here
The NHS Pension Scheme: plain-English guide
The full plain-English guide for this scheme, what it is, how the sections fit together, what you contribute and what you get out.
What members usually ask
- Which section am I actually in?
- Depends on when you joined and your age on 1 April 2012, plus the McCloud rollback for service between April 2015 and March 2022.
- Why is my contribution rate so high?
- Contributions are tiered by pensionable pay, from 5.1% up to 12.5% in 2026/27. The percentage steps up at fixed earnings bands.
- What is McCloud doing to my NHS pension?
- Service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 has been put back into your legacy section by default. You get a choice at retirement.
- When will I get my Remediable Service Statement?
- NHSBSA has not published a confirmed timetable for issuing all RSS. Check the Member Hub regularly for updates.
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