Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75)
This scheme was brought into force in 1975 by a Royal Warrant which began thus:
"Whereas We deem it expedient ... Our Will and Pleasure is that the Schedule attached to this Our Warrant, together with any additions and amendments that We may hereafter decide shall, except in cases covered by the warrant of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria of 27th October 1884, be established and obeyed as the sole authority on matters herein treated..."
AFPS 75 has the following main features:
- It is a defined benefit scheme based on your final salary (this means you know what pension you will get regardless of the performance of the economy). This is a major benefit not found in many private sector schemes these days.
- It is based on 34 years maximum service for officers or 37 years for other ranks.
- Eligibility starts at age 18 (or date of entry if later) for other ranks, and age 21 for officers (or date of entry if later).
- Widows receive up to 50% of spouse's pension.
- Death in service grant is three times salary regardless of whether death is attributable to service or not.
- It pays an immediate pension after only 16 years' pensionable service if you are an officer, and after 22 years' pensionable service as an other rank, plus a tax free lump sum gratuity equal to three times the annual pension award in all cases.
In summary AFPS 75 favours a short service career, but has a poor dependant's package.
AFPS 75 - Anomalies
Unfortunately there are a number of important and significant (but unintended) shortcomings with AFPS 75. These are termed the legacy issues and are described in the Legacy Issues page.
