Calculating your Benefits
The FPS 2007 is a final salary pension scheme which means that your pension will equate to a proportion of your final pensionable pay. The proportion will depend, in part, upon how much pensionable service you have at the time of leaving the scheme. For each year of pensionable service, you will get 1/60th of your final pay in return as an annual pension.
In other words, as a whole-time or part-time firefighter, each day of pensionable service will count as 1/365th of 1/60th. For example, if you retire at age 60 with 35 years 28 days of pensionable service and a final pensionable pay of £32,000, your pension would be assessed as;
35 years 28/365 days x 1/60th x £32,000 = £18,707.58 annual pension
You will also have the option when you retire to exchange some of your pension to gain a tax-free lump sum.
What if I work as a Retained Firefighter?
If you are a retained firefighter, the principles concerning the calculation of your benefits will be different to those mentioned above, due to differences in pensionable pay and the absence of contractual hours.