The Government has made a change to the discount factors used by pension schemes to calculate pension values.
Revised commutation factors for the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 1992 (FPS 1992) have been introduced from 21 May 2026 and take immediate effect.
These factors are used to calculate the lump sum payable where a member chooses to exchange part of their pension at retirement. The changes follow a Government announcement on 19 May 2026 regarding the SCAPE discount rate, which requires certain actuarial factors used in pension calculations to be updated.
The revised factors have reduced, meaning that for FPS 1992 benefits, members who choose to take a lump sum will receive less than would previously have been payable under the old factors. The exact impact will depend on individual circumstances, but early indications suggest this may be in the region of around 5%.
These changes apply to all retirements from 21 May 2026 onwards.
A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is also available to provide further detail on:
- What has changed
- Why the changes have been made
- How this may affect you
Across all schemes, other affected calculations include, but are not limited to: early retirement, added pension, transfers, divorce and pension debit factors.
Any request made from this date will be acknowledged but cannot be processed until new factors are issued by GAD.
Club transfers (to and from pension schemes within the public sector) can continue and are not affected by the discount factor change.