FPS 1992 Explained: Double Accrual, Age 50 and Lump Sums

Who is in the 1992 scheme and where it stands in 2026

The official member website says the firefighters’ pension scheme 1992 closed to new members in April 2006. You may have benefits in it if you were a wholetime firefighter before 6 April 2006 and either left employment and hold a deferred pension only, or moved to FPS 2015 and hold benefits in both. No new pension has been building in the 1992 scheme since 31 March 2022, when all remaining members moved to FPS 2015.

Before that, some members were protected. Under the 2015 reforms, 1992 members who were at least 45 on 1 April 2012, or aged 40 or over with at least 20 years’ service, stayed in the 1992 scheme; those within four years of qualifying had tapered protection and moved later. Others joined FPS 2015 on 1 April 2015. Those age-based protections were found to be discriminatory, which is the basis of the remedy; see the McCloud remedy guide.

Many serving firefighters today therefore have two pensions: a final salary slice from the 1992 scheme, and a CARE slice from FPS 2015. The rest of this guide explains the 1992 slice; the three-scheme comparison shows how it sits alongside the others.

How the 1992 pension is calculated

The pension is based on three things: pensionable service, average pensionable pay when you leave, and the accrual rate. For the first 20 years, annual pension is pensionable service × 1/60 × average pensionable pay. For years 21 to 30, service earns 2/60 per year. The official website calls this double accrual and says it allowed the maximum pension of 40/60 to be earned within 30 years.

The LGA’s worked example shows a wholetime firefighter with 22 years’ service at 55 on £38,000: 20 years at 1/60 plus two years at 2/60 makes 24/60, so 24/60 × £38,000 = £15,200 a year. A 30-year career gives 40/60. On £40,358 — the competent rate from 1 July 2026 — 40/60 is £26,905.33. That is a straight illustration of the formula, not a promise, because your own average pensionable pay and any pay reductions may differ.

Average pensionable pay is not always your last month’s salary: it is the average defined by the scheme regulations, so check your quotation. Members who worked part-time have their service adjusted, and retained service was treated differently; see on-call firefighter pension.

The double accrual guarantee after the move to FPS 2015

FPS 2015 has no double accrual, but the protection continues for 1992 benefits. The member website explains that when you retire, your 1992 pension is calculated including any double accrual you would have built up had you not moved to FPS 2015. The pension is based on the time actually spent in the 1992 scheme, scaled to the maximum you would have earned.

The official example: 22 years in the 1992 scheme by 31 March 2022, plus 8 years in FPS 2015, makes 30 years in total. Had you stayed in the 1992 scheme, 20 years at 1/60 (20/60) plus 10 years at 2/60 (20/60) would give 40/60. The pension is (40/60) × (22/30) × £30,000 = £14,666.67. The FPS 2015 pension is calculated and paid on top.

The effect is that the 1992 slice is not diluted by the move; it reflects the full double accrual entitlement in proportion to service actually built. Ask your administrator to show the double accrual calculation on your quotation.

When you can retire: 55, 50 and the protected pension age

The member website says you can take FPS 1992 benefits without reduction from age 55, the normal retirement age, and you may also be able to take them from age 50 with at least 25 years’ service. This is a protected pension age: the general minimum pension age in the UK rose to 55 on 6 April 2010, but fire, police and armed forces schemes were able to keep age 50 for members who were in the scheme at the relevant date.

It can be lost. The official tax page warns that in some instances members lose their protected pension age, in which case tax charges apply to payments before age 55, including any lump sum: a 40% unauthorised payment charge on the member, a 15% scheme sanction charge on the fire and rescue authority and a 15% unauthorised payment surcharge on the member. If you are considering retiring before 55, ask for written confirmation that your protected pension age is intact before you commit.

Deferred 1992 pensions — for those who left or opted out and did not transfer — are paid at age 60. If you retire on 1992 benefits before 55, your FPS 2015 slice is deferred to State Pension age or can be taken early from 55 with a reduction. See firefighter pension retirement age and early retirement.

Lump sums: a quarter, or 2.25 times pension

You can give up part of your 1992 pension for a tax-free cash lump sum. The maximum pension you can give up is one quarter of your annual pension if you retire at or after 55, from age 50 with 30 years or more service, or if you have a deferred pension. The lump sum is (pension ÷ 4) × commutation factor. Unlike FPS 2006 and 2015, which use a flat £12 per £1, the 1992 factor comes from a GAD table based on the age you take your pension, and it is reviewed regularly.

Between age 50 and 55 with 25 to 29 years’ service, the rule is different: the lump sum is 2.25 times your annual pension. The scheme’s own worked cases show why the choice matters: a Scottish illustration used a factor of 20.3 for a 1992 member at 55 in July 2013, giving £2,425 × 20.3 = £49,228 for a £9,700 pension, but factors have been revised since, so do not reuse that number.

Factors above 20 can produce tax problems if they exceed HMRC limits; the lump sum allowance is £268,275 for most people according to GOV.UK. The guide to commutation and the free lump sum calculator help you test the trade-off; use your own factor from a formal quotation.

Death benefits and dependants under the 1992 scheme

The official page says the 1992 scheme no longer provides death in service benefits because it is closed to active members; if you are also building FPS 2015 benefits, those provide the death in service cover. Otherwise, a survivor’s pension is paid to a husband, wife or civil partner where the member had at least two years’ pensionable service and was not living separately. It is half the pension, calculated before any reduction for a lump sum or allocation. Pensions are not paid to unmarried partners under the 1992 scheme.

Payment stops on remarriage or a new civil partnership, subject to exceptions, and can be less than half in some cases such as service before April 1972. A bereavement pension tops up the survivor’s pension for the first 13 weeks. Children’s pensions depend on numbers and whether there is a surviving parent: 18.75% each of the pension in payment for up to two children with a surviving parent, and 25% each with none, with higher totals split for three or more children.

There is also an allocation option, letting you give up to one third of your pension to your survivor, chosen in the two months before benefits become payable. See firefighter pension death benefits for a fuller comparison across schemes.

Small pensions, transfers and other practical points

If the value of all your pension arrangements is under £30,000, you may be able to take a small pension as a lump sum (trivial commutation). For the 1992 scheme the value used is the annual pension multiplied by 20: an annual pension of £1,200 is treated as £24,000, which is under the limit, so the member could look into a lump sum. Members who want to transfer out should speak to their administrator at least a year before retirement; transfers to schemes that allow flexible access are not permitted, and 1992 benefits cannot be moved into the 2015 or 2006 sections.

Two practical points: notify your administrator of your plans at least six months before retirement, and ask for a remedy figure if you are eligible. The 1992 slice is part of your ABS-RSS, so it will be compared with what the reformed scheme would have given for 2015 to 2022. Also note the official comment that some 1992 members who retire at 50 may have gaps in National Insurance contributions that affect State Pension; check your forecast, and see firefighter pension and State Pension.

For the transfer option specifically, see firefighter pension transfers, and for a more personalised projection, the pension report uses your own figures.

Questions to ask your administrator about 1992 benefits

The 1992 slice can be the largest part of a long-serving firefighter’s pension, so it deserves its own checklist.

1. Confirm your total 1992 service and that any double accrual is included in the calculation.
2. Ask whether your protected pension age is intact and request that in writing before retiring before 55.
3. Request quotations with no lump sum, a quarter lump sum and any intermediate figure, with the factor shown.
4. Check whether a two pension (split pension) award applies and which option is better.
5. Confirm how much remedy comparison is included and when your ABS-RSS will be issued.