Pillar Guide · Updated July 2026
Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS): A Complete UK Guide for 2026/27
AFPS 2015 is the main pension scheme for UK service personnel, with distinctive features like Early Departure Payments designed around military careers that often end well before typical civilian retirement age. This guide explains how it accrues, EDP, and the McCloud remedy.
What AFPS 2015 Is
AFPS 2015 is the pension scheme covering most Regular and Reserve service personnel from 1 April 2015 onwards, replacing the previous final salary schemes AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 for new accrual from that date. Many long-serving personnel have a mix of legacy and AFPS 2015 benefits reflecting the different periods of their career, similar in principle to how other public sector pension reforms were structured, but with features specifically designed around military service patterns.
How Pension Builds Up
AFPS 2015 is a career average scheme: each scheme year, 1/47 of your pensionable earnings for that year is added to your accumulated pension, which is then revalued in line with inflation each year you remain in service. This is a faster accrual rate than many civilian public service schemes (which commonly use 1/49 or 1/57), reflecting that military careers are often shorter and can involve earlier, higher-risk retirement than typical civilian employment.
Early Departure Payments
An Early Departure Payment (EDP) is available to service personnel who leave after meeting a minimum combination of age and years of service but before reaching Normal Pension Age. EDP provides a tax-free lump sum plus a taxable income stream, paid from the date of leaving until State Pension age, at which point the main AFPS 2015 pension and a further payment typically become payable. This bridges the gap between an earlier military exit and the point the full pension is designed to be paid, recognising that most personnel leave the Armed Forces well before State Pension age.
The Immediate Pension Point
Under the earlier AFPS 05 scheme, and for some personnel with reckonable service that predates 2015 under transitional rules, reaching a set combination of years of service and age can trigger an "immediate pension" and lump sum payable straight away on leaving, rather than a deferred pension only payable from Normal Pension Age. Whether this applies, and on what terms, depends on your specific mix of legacy and AFPS 2015 service — check your benefit statement or with Veterans UK for your individual position.
Normal Pension Age
AFPS 2015's Normal Pension Age for the main pension is 60, notably lower than the State Pension age-linked Normal Pension Age used in most other reformed public service schemes such as the Civil Service alpha scheme or NHS 2015 scheme. This reflects the distinct nature of a military career, with the Early Departure Payment designed to provide an income bridge for those who leave service well before age 60.
The McCloud Remedy
As with other public service pension schemes, the 2015 Armed Forces reforms gave older service personnel transitional protection to remain in the legacy AFPS 05 scheme for longer, while younger personnel moved into AFPS 2015 immediately. This was found to unlawfully discriminate on age grounds. The remedy gives eligible members a choice, for the remedy period (broadly 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022), between legacy AFPS 05 or AFPS 2015 benefits for that period, usually made as a deferred choice when the member actually draws their pension or EDP, so the more favourable outcome can be selected with full knowledge of the final figures.
Medical Discharge and Ill-Health
Service personnel medically discharged from the Armed Forces may qualify for an ill-health pension under AFPS 2015, with different tiers of benefit depending on how severe and permanent the condition is judged to be. This pension entitlement is separate from any award under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which specifically compensates for injury, illness or death caused by service and is assessed independently of pension scheme rules.