The Civil Service Pension Scheme Explained

A plain guide for civil servants and staff in many arms-length public bodies. What you pay in, what you get out, and the one rule that decides whether you can combine it with anything else.

The short answer

The short answer

The Civil Service pension (alpha) is career average (care), defined benefit.
You build 2.32% of pensionable earnings each year.
Normal pension age is Your State Pension age, or 65 if that is later.
It is unfunded, so you cannot transfer it to a personal pension.

Civil Service pensions at a glance

Main scheme	alpha, defined benefit career average
Alternative	partnership, defined contribution
Build-up rate	2.32% of pensionable earnings a year in alpha
Worth transferring out?	Almost never for alpha
Main trap	Not knowing which of the two you are in

Can you combine it?

Because this is an unfunded public service scheme, you cannot move it into a personal pension or any other defined contribution plan. MoneyHelper says most public sector pension schemes will not allow a transfer to a defined contribution arrangement. So the question “should I combine this with my other pots” has already been answered for you by law.

If safeguarded benefits are worth more than £30,000, you are required by law to take regulated advice from a pension transfer specialist before you can transfer. That is a legal requirement, not a suggestion, and the scheme you are transferring from must check you have had it.

This is the question most people arrive with, so it is answered first rather than buried. Your old pots from other jobs are a different matter, and that is covered below.

How the pension builds up

The Civil Service pension (alpha) is career average (care), defined benefit. Each year you build 2.32% of pensionable earnings each year. alpha states its accrual as a percentage rather than a fraction, which is the same idea expressed differently.

Career average means each year is banked separately and then revalued. Your final salary does not set the whole pension, which is what changed from the older schemes.

Normal pension age is Your State Pension age, or 65 if that is later. Taking benefits before then reduces them permanently, because the scheme expects to pay you for longer.

What it costs you

Member contribution rates for 2026/27.

Pensionable pay	You pay
£0 to £36,199	4.6%
£36,200 to £56,000	5.45%
£56,001 to £150,000	7.35%
£150,001 and above	8.05%

Contributions attract income tax relief, so the cost to your take-home pay is less than the headline percentage suggests. Your employer pays in alongside you.

alpha or partnership, the choice most civil servants do not know they made

The Civil Service offers a genuine choice that other public schemes do not. You can be in alpha, which is defined benefit, or partnership, which is defined contribution.

alpha builds a guaranteed income at 2.32% of earnings a year. partnership builds a pot in your own name, whose value depends on contributions and investment returns.

alpha's guarantee is expensive to buy elsewhere. partnership suits a short expected stay, or someone who places a high value on the pot being inheritable.

If you were moved to alpha between 2015 and 2022, the McCloud remedy gives you a choice of benefits for that period. You make it at retirement, not now. That is the Deferred Choice Underpin.

alpha and partnership, side by side on the same salary

A civil servant on £40,000 in alpha builds 2.32% of that, which is £928 of guaranteed annual pension in a single year. They pay 5.45% at that salary.

The same person in partnership pays into a pot instead. What they end up with depends on contributions and investment returns, and the risk is theirs.

£928 a year, rising with inflation and paid for life, is expensive to buy on the open market. That is the value alpha delivers.

partnership can still suit someone expecting a short stay in the service, or someone who places high value on a pot being inheritable.

Unsure how the choice between alpha and partnership affects you?
That is a regulated question and we are not pension advisers. We introduce you to one who is. The introduction costs you nothing; we may be paid a fee by that firm.

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What you would be giving up

These are the four things people lose sight of when a transfer value lands on the doormat.

partnership moves the risk to you

It is a defined contribution pot. There is no guaranteed income, and its value can fall as well as rise.

alpha cannot be moved to a personal pension

alpha is an unfunded public service scheme, so transfers out are limited to other defined benefit schemes.

The McCloud choice comes later

For service between 2015 and 2022 you choose at retirement, not now. Acting early on assumptions can be costly.

Partnership pots follow different rules

Money already in a partnership pot stays there and is treated as defined contribution at retirement.

The pot stays invested

A combined pot remains invested, so its value can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than was transferred in, and that risk sits with you, not the scheme.

The pots that are worth reviewing

Most people who work for government departments and public bodies also have older pots from earlier jobs. Those are the ones worth looking at. They are often small, forgotten, and sitting in expensive or poorly performing funds.

Combining those can cut charges and give you one place to look. It carries its own risks, covered above, and it needs advice from a firm authorised to give it.

Have other pots alongside your Civil Service pension (alpha) pension?

Old workplace pots from previous jobs are a different question from your scheme pension. Those are often worth reviewing. We will introduce you to a firm that can advise on them.

Ask about your other pensions

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Common questions

Can I combine my Civil Service pension with my other pensions?

No. Because this is an unfunded public service scheme, you cannot move it into a personal pension or any other defined contribution plan. MoneyHelper says most public sector pension schemes will not allow a transfer to a defined contribution arrangement. So the question “should I combine this with my other pots” has already been answered for you by law.

Is the Civil Service pension (alpha) a good pension?

It is career average (care), defined benefit. Your employer carries the investment risk, not you. Each year you build 2.32% of pensionable earnings each year. That guarantee is the part people undervalue, because a pot with a number on it feels more real than an income promise.

What happens to my other old workplace pots?

Those are a separate question, and usually the more useful one. Pots from previous jobs can often be reviewed and sometimes combined. That is where we can introduce you to a firm that advises. Your Civil Service scheme pension normally stays exactly where it is.

Do I have to take advice before transferring?

When can I take my Civil Service pension?

The normal pension age for this scheme is Your State Pension age, or 65 if that is later. You can usually take benefits earlier, but they are reduced to reflect the longer period they will be paid for. Taking a scheme pension early is a permanent decision.

What does it cost me to be in the scheme?

Member contribution rates for 2026/27.

Should I be in alpha or partnership?

alpha provides a guaranteed inflation-linked income, which is hard to buy privately. partnership can suit a short stay in the service. It is a regulated advice question and not one we answer.

What is the Deferred Choice Underpin?

It is how the McCloud remedy works in the Civil Service. For service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 you choose between legacy PCSPS benefits and alpha benefits. You make the choice when you retire, with the figures in front of you.

Does That's Family Finance advise on my scheme pension?

No. We hold protection permissions only. We do not advise on pensions and we are not pension transfer specialists. We introduce you to a separately authorised firm that is. The introduction costs you nothing; we may be paid a fee by the firm we introduce you to.

Held both alpha and partnership at different times?

They work completely differently. Knowing which you hold is the first step, and plenty of people do not. Tell us what you hold and we will put you in front of a regulated pension adviser. If combining is the wrong move, they will tell you that.

Talk it through with us

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Sources and how to check

Where these figures come from

Figures were checked in August 2026. Scheme rules and pay bands change, usually each April, so check the scheme’s own page before you act.

Pensions go to a separately authorised firm we have vetted. The introduction costs you nothing; we may be paid a fee by the firm we introduce you to.