NHS 2015 CARE Pension Scheme Guide | Modern Benefits Structure

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McCloud and the NHS Pension Scheme

39 s · Captions on · Official sources checked 30 September 2026
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2015 Scheme Tools & Resources

McCloud Remedy Guide

Understand your remedy period choices

Flexible Retirement

Explore modern retirement options

Key 2015 Scheme Features

Normal Pension Age

State Pension Age (currently 66-68)

Accrual Rate

1/54th of pensionable pay each year

Revaluation

CPI + 1.5% (capped at 2.5%)

Flexibility

Partial retirement and wind-down options

2015 CARE Scheme Overview

The NHS 2015 Scheme is a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) pension, revalued each year:

Key Features:

•Career Average design - pension built from all years of service

•Annual revaluation to maintain purchasing power

•Normal Pension Age linked to State Pension Age

•1/54th accrual rate

•Flexible retirement options from age 55

Modern Benefits:

•Partial retirement while continuing to work

•Wind-down provisions for gradual retirement

•Enhanced survivor benefits

•Improved ill-health provisions

•No maximum service limit

All active NHS staff are now members of the 2015 Scheme. Active members of legacy schemes moved across on 1 April 2022.

Source: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub

CARE Pension Calculation

Career Average calculation builds pension year by year:

Annual Pension Build-Up:

•Each year: Pensionable pay ÷ 54 = pension earned

•Example: £30,000 ÷ 54 = £555.56 pension for that year

•Revaluation applied annually to maintain value

Revaluation Process:

•Previous years' pension increased by CPI + 1.5%

•Maximum increase: 2.5%

•Minimum increase: 0%

•Applied each April to all accrued pension

Total Pension Calculation:

•Sum of all revalued annual pension amounts

•Plus any transferred-in benefits

•Protected rights from legacy schemes

•McCloud remedy choices for 2015-2022 period

Source: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/getting-estimate-your-pension

Member Contributions

Tiered contribution structure based on whole-time equivalent pay:

2026/27 Contribution Rates:

•Up to £13,259: 5.2%

•£13,260 - £27,797: 6.5%

•£27,798 - £33,868: 8.3%

•£33,869 - £50,845: 9.8%

•£50,846 - £65,190: 10.7%

•Over £65,191: 12.5%

Employer Contributions:

•Standard rate: 23.7% of pensionable pay

•Covers pension, lump sum death benefit

•Includes administration costs

•No employee contribution to employer rate

Source: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/cost-being-scheme

Flexible Retirement Options

The 2015 Scheme offers various flexible retirement pathways:

Partial Retirement:

•Draw some pension while continuing to work

•Reduce hours or grade while accessing benefits

•Continue building pension on reduced pay

•Available from minimum pension age (55)

Wind Down:

•Gradual reduction in pensionable pay

•Protection against pension reduction

•Maximum 5-year wind-down period

•Must be genuine reduction in responsibilities

Phased Retirement:

•Multiple partial retirements possible

•Each pension drawn separately

•Flexibility to match individual circumstances

•Employer agreement required

Source: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/your-options-flexible-retirement

McCloud Remedy and 2015 Scheme

The McCloud remedy covers 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, the remedy period. You are affected if you joined a public service pension scheme on or before 31 March 2012 and had continuous pensionable service in the remedy period, or left after 31 March 2012 and returned within five years. If you joined after 31 March 2012, you are not affected.

Remedy period (2015 to 2022):

•If you had no protection or tapered protection, your 2015 Scheme service in the remedy period was moved back to the 1995/2008 Scheme on 1 October 2023. This is called rollback.

•Members with full protection never moved to the 2015 Scheme. They are offered the choice too.

•You choose 1995/2008 or 2015 Scheme benefits for the remedy period after you retire. You have 12 months from the date in your remediable service statement, and if you do not reply NHS Pensions pays 1995 or 2008 benefits for that period.

•If you had already retired before rollback, you get an immediate choice, which cannot be reversed.

From 1 April 2022:

•Every active NHS member builds pension in the 2015 Scheme.

•The 1995 and 2008 Sections closed on 31 March 2022, but you keep what you built there.

•Continued CARE benefit build-up

•Partial and phased retirement provisions apply

Source: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/public-service-pensions-remedy-mccloud/public-services-pension-remedy-mccloud-remedy

How to sanity-check your 2015 benefits

Check pensionable pay

Your CARE accrual is based on pensionable earnings each year. Verify payslip pensionable pay where overtime, LTFT, or extra sessions are involved.

Track revaluation

Each year's pension slice is revalued. This can make older 2015 accrual more valuable than a simple 1/54 calculation suggests.

Compare retirement ages

2015 benefits are linked to State Pension Age, so early-retirement reductions are a bigger planning point than for many legacy members.

Watch annual allowance

CARE growth can still create annual allowance issues in years with pay jumps, awards, backdated pay, or high extra pensionable earnings.

Related guides

These related guides cover the next questions that usually come up after this topic.

1995/2008 Scheme

Compare CARE accrual with legacy final salary sections.

McCloud Remedy

Understand remedy-period choices and revised statements.

Annual Allowance

Check pension input amounts in high-growth years.

Career-Average Scheme, Revalued Each Year

The 2015 Scheme provides a modern pension structure with built-in protections against inflation and flexible retirement options. The McCloud remedy ensures you can choose the best benefits for the 2015-2022 period while continuing to build valuable pension benefits going forward.