Civil Service ill health retirement calculator: alpha lower and upper tier
Last updated · By Mustafa Bilgic · Rules from the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations 2014 and the Civil Service Pensions alpha scheme guide
This page explains who qualifies, how the two tiers work, exactly how the upper tier top up is worked out, and what happens to older scheme pensions, lump sums and reviews. The calculator uses the dates and figures on your annual benefit statement to estimate both tiers and the serious ill health lump sum.
The two tiers of alpha ill health retirement
The Scheme Medical Adviser (SMA), a third party organisation appointed by the scheme manager to give independent medical advice, certifies whether you meet the criteria and which of the two tiers you qualify for. Permanent means until your predicted State Pension age. Your employer must also agree that you are entitled to retire on ill health grounds.
| Tier | Scheme Medical Adviser's opinion | What you get | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower tier | A permanent breakdown in health means you are incapable of doing your own job or a comparable job | The alpha pension you have built up, with any added pension and transferred-in pension, and no reduction for early payment | For life |
| Upper tier | You are also incapable of any gainful employment, and you have not partially retired | The lower tier pension plus the upper tier top up for the years to normal pension age | Lower tier for life; the top up is reviewed at least every 5 years until normal pension age |
| Serious ill health | Your life expectancy is less than 12 months | Five times your annual pension as a one-off lump sum instead of the pension | Paid once; ask before any pension is paid |
alpha ill health pension calculator
Lower or upper tier from your statement and dates
Leave the normal pension age date blank to work it out from your date of birth: your State Pension age under current law, or 65 if later.
Who qualifies
Regulation 74 gives an active member who has not reached normal pension age an immediate ill health pension if four conditions are met: you or your employer claim it, the SMA gives a certificate that you have suffered a permanent breakdown in health involving incapacity for employment or total incapacity for employment, you have at least two years' qualifying service, and your employer agrees that you are entitled to retire on ill health grounds. Incapacity for employment means you are incapable of doing your own or a comparable job. Total incapacity for employment means you are also incapable of gainful employment.
Before an application starts, your employer must look, with advice from its occupational health provider, at ways of helping you stay in or return to work. Your employer must tell you about your right to apply, and it should put you forward if it intends to dismiss you for poor attendance or performance that may be caused by your health. If you have partially retired, you can only get the lower tier, even if you meet the upper tier test. If you have reached normal pension age, ill health terms do not apply.
How the upper tier top up is worked out
Regulation 76 calculates the upper tier top up as the earnings-related part of your alpha pension multiplied by an enhancement fraction, A divided by B:
- A is your assumed period of pensionable service, in years: from the day after your service ends to the day before you reach normal pension age, or to the day a fixed-term appointment ends if that is sooner.
- B is the shorter of your period of service in alpha, in years, and the number of scheme years for which your account shows an amount of earned pension.
- The earnings-related part is your alpha pension without any pension from a transfer in. Transferred-in pension and added pension are paid with the lower tier, but they are not used for the top up.
The member guide puts it in plain terms: your alpha pension is divided by the number of years you were a member, to give the average amount you added each year, and that average is multiplied by the number of years from your ill health retirement to your predicted normal pension age. Because the average is added in full for each remaining year, the top up grows with the years left to normal pension age. The calculator counts both periods in years and days, with the days as a fraction of 365.
Normal pension age
The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 sets the normal pension age in alpha at your State Pension age, or 65 if that is higher. State Pension age is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and under the Pensions Act 2007 it rises to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for people born after 5 April 1977. The calculator follows the GOV.UK timetable under current law, and you can type the date from your statement instead.
Classic, premium and nuvos pensions
If you were in classic, classic plus, premium or nuvos before you moved to alpha, that part of your pension is worked out at your retirement date and paid with the alpha part. It is not reduced for early payment, but it is not increased or enhanced in any way. Under the alpha regulations it is paid as a payment equal to your older scheme pension, which is replaced automatically by the actual pension from that scheme when you reach its normal pension age, usually 60 or 65. You get the lump sum option only once, when you retire.
If you bought added pension by a lump sum in the year before you retire, or transferred pension in less than two years before you retire, that pension may be preserved instead of being paid straight away. You can claim it later, under the usual rules for preserved pensions.
Lump sum and serious ill health
You can exchange part of your pension for a tax free lump sum within HMRC limits: regulation 84 gives £12 of lump sum for every £1 of yearly pension you give up, and the maximum is shown on your quote. If your doctors confirm, and the SMA agrees, that your life expectancy is less than 12 months, you can instead exchange all of your pension for a one-off payment of five times your annual pension. You must ask before any pension is paid. The pensions that can be paid to your dependants are not affected, and the guide warns that the total you receive may be higher if you do not take this option.
Provisional awards and reviews
If the SMA cannot decide whether your condition is permanent, it can recommend a provisional award at the tier that fits your condition at the time, with a review date up to five years later. At a review, a lower award or none at all takes effect after three months' notice, and an increase is backdated to the review date. An upper tier top up is reviewed at least every five years until you reach normal pension age. If the SMA finds you are no longer incapable of gainful employment, the top up stops three months after its opinion and you keep the lower tier pension, which is paid for life. The top up also stops if you return to work in a scheme employment.
If you have already left
There is no ill health retirement for members who have left alpha with a preserved pension. You can claim a preserved pension early once you reach the minimum pension age, but it is reduced for early payment. If you are terminally ill with a life expectancy of less than 12 months, the one-off payment is also open to preserved members at any age. Early payment of a preserved award on medical grounds is available only for classic pensions.
Appeals
You can appeal against a decision not to grant ill health retirement, or to give you only a lower tier pension. There are time limits, you will need new medical evidence, and the details come with your decision letter. Your employer can also tell you about the appeal process.
The McCloud remedy
If you were in pensionable service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, the remedy has moved that service back to the legacy scheme, so it is treated as never having been in alpha, and you will choose legacy or alpha benefits for that period when you retire. Enter the alpha figures and dates from your latest statement, and the scheme will confirm which service counts for the top up.
Worked example
A member built up an alpha pension of £6,000 over exactly 10 years and retires on ill health grounds 20 years before normal pension age. The average amount added each year is £600, so the upper tier top up is £600 x 20 = £12,000.00 a year. The upper tier pension is £18,000.00 a year for life, subject to reviews of the top up, and the lower tier pension would be £6,000 a year. If the member's life expectancy were less than 12 months, the one-off payment at the upper tier would be five times £18,000.00, which is £90,000.00. We found no worked figures from Civil Service Pensions, so these follow the regulation and the guide's description.
Sources and methodology
The calculator applies regulation 76 with dates counted in whole years and days, the normal pension age rule in section 10 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and the GOV.UK State Pension age timetable. It was tested on hand calculations of the regulation, fixed-term appointments and the scheme year rule for B. It does not model partial retirement, provisional awards, recently bought added pension or the McCloud remedy choice.
- Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations 2014, regulations 71 to 77, 84 and 85, on legislation.gov.uk.
- alpha: Ill-health retirement, section 05D, Civil Service Pensions, and the Ill Health Retirement Guide for Members.
- Public Service Pensions Act 2013, section 10, and the State Pension age timetable on GOV.UK.
- Chapter 1 pension scheme guidance (McCloud remedy), HMRC on GOV.UK.
Frequently asked questions
What are the criteria for alpha ill health retirement?
You need at least two years' qualifying service, and the Scheme Medical Adviser must certify a permanent breakdown in health that means you are incapable of doing your own or a comparable job. Permanent means until your predicted State Pension age. Your employer must also agree that you are entitled to retire on ill health grounds.
What is the difference between the lower tier and the upper tier?
The lower tier is for members who cannot do their own or a comparable job, and pays the pension built up so far without reduction. The upper tier is for members who are also incapable of any gainful employment, and adds a top up for the years to normal pension age.
How is the upper tier top up calculated?
Your alpha pension, leaving out any transferred-in pension, is divided by your years of alpha service to give the average added each year, then multiplied by the years from your retirement to normal pension age. For example, £6,000 built up over 10 years with 20 years to go gives a top up of £12,000 a year.
Is my classic or premium pension enhanced?
No. The classic, classic plus, premium or nuvos part is paid with the alpha part, without a reduction for early payment, but it is not increased or enhanced in any way.
Is the upper tier pension reviewed?
Yes. The Scheme Medical Adviser reviews the top up at least every five years until you reach normal pension age. If you are no longer incapable of gainful employment, the top up stops after three months and you keep the lower tier pension for life.
Can I get ill health retirement after leaving the Civil Service?
Not in alpha. A preserved alpha pension can be claimed early from the minimum pension age with a reduction, and members with a life expectancy of less than 12 months can take a one-off payment of five times the annual pension at any age.