Welcome
to your Spring 2025
CS Pensions newsletter!
Welcome to the Spring active newsletter. I’d like to start by outlining what we’re doing in terms of this year’s Annual Benefit Statements (ABS). If you're not affected by the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) and eligible for an ABS, you’ll be notified either via email or your employer that your 2025 ABS is ready to view or download.
If you're affected by the 2015 Remedy (approx 200,000 of you are), you’ll be issued with two statements, an ABS and an Alternative Scheme Option ABS. These are illustrations of what your pension will look like in the Legacy scheme or reformed scheme. There’s nothing for you to do until you retire because that’s when you’ll choose your preferred option under Remedy. Both these statements make up your Remediable Service Statement. The article below gives you more information but I want to assure you that we’re working through this complex area as quickly as we can.
Pensions can be confusing which is why we offer pension power sessions, they’re free one-hour webinars delivered by the administrator’s expert training team. Regardless of whether you’re a new joiner or have been a scheme member for years, you’ll come away with sound information about your pension benefits. Pensions tax training is also available for those who may have a Pensions Annual Allowance tax charge to pay, but please read below for more details as this is chargeable.
Our annual Member Engagement Survey is live and we’d be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to answer the short questionnaire. Your answers will help us understand a little bit about you and your financial priorities, which in turn will inform how we shape and evolve the scheme communications to meet your needs.
There’s a lot planned within pensions. Please come and see us at Civil Service Live over the Summer. Whether you attend a presentation or visit us on the stand, we'll have a friendly and knowledgeable team ready to speak to you about your future plans and our future plans. I look forward to seeing you there!
Simon Claydon
Director of Civil Service Pay, Policy & Pensions
Statement season is nearly here - time to check in on your pension
Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) give you the opportunity to review your pension and make sure you’re on track to meet your long-term financial goals.
If you're registered on the pension portal, we'll email you as soon as your ABS is available to view or download. If you're not registered, visit the scheme website to check when your statement is due. This page includes a step-by-step guide on how to register for the portal - registration is required to access your ABS online.
If you’ve opted to receive a paper copy, your statement will be sent to your home address or delivered via your employer. If you're eligible for a Pension Saving Statement, that too will be sent by post.
These statements are some of the most important documents you’ll receive about your pension. We encourage you to review them carefully and contact us or your employer if you have any questions.
Your ABS shows an estimate of your pension benefits up to 31 March 2025 and is based on information provided to the scheme by your employer.
Active members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme who have been contributing in alpha up to 31 March 2025 are eligible to get an ABS. If you joined after 1 April 2025, you’ll be eligible in 2026.
Distribution of ABS will begin in early July. All eligible members will receive their statements by 31 August 2025.
From 7 July, you can check the ABS Distribution Schedule by entering your employer’s name to see when your statement is expected.
If your ABS isn’t available by the estimated date, don’t worry - if you're registered on the Pension Portal, we'll send an email to your registered address as soon as your statement is ready to view.
Learn more about ABS
Frequently asked questions
Get help understanding your ABS
The 2015 Remedy (McCloud) and your ABS
As a result of Remedy, we are required to provide impacted members with an illustration of pension benefits for their remediable service (from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022).
All affected members, who remain in active service will receive a Remediable Service Statement (RSS) detailing their benefits in both their Legacy scheme and reformed scheme. The following two statements form your RSS.
- ABS:
- Legacy service (classic, classic plus, premium or nuvos) to 31 March 2022
- alpha from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2025 (the ABS calculation date)
- Alternative Scheme Option ABS:
- Legacy service (classic, classic plus, premium or nuvos) until 31 March 2015
- alpha from 01 April 2015 until 31 March 2025 (the ABS calculation date) *
*During the Remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022), your Alternative Scheme Option is calculated using the alpha scheme rules. However, the benefit accrued and paid during this period is legally part of your PCSPS benefits.
Pension Saving Statements (PSS)
A PSS shows how much the value of your Civil Service pension has grown in the last year and informs you if you've exceeded the Annual Allowance limit. A PSS is issued between August and October.
It’s important to note that the PSS issued by the Scheme only covers your Civil Service pension. If you have other pensions elsewhere, you’ll need to factor these in when deciding whether you need to pay tax.
You’ll be sent a PSS if:
- You’ve exceeded the current Annual Allowance limit, or
- You earn over £100,000 per year, or
- You’ve requested a PSS.
The current Annual Allowance limit is £60,000.
Annual Allowance is the amount your pension can grow by each year before tax is payable.
Annual Allowance is not the overall value of your pensions. It applies to the overall growth of all pensions you're actively saving or building up, including your Civil Service pension. This growth is referred to as your Pension Input Amount.
Pension Input Amounts for your Civil Service pension are based on the benefits you have built up, not the contributions you or your employer have made.
The Annual Allowance for most is £60,000. So, if the combined growth of all your pensions was no more than £60,000 in the last financial year, you will not have a tax charge to pay.
You can carry forward any unused Annual Allowance from the last three years. If your pension savings have increased by more than £60,000 this year and you have enough unused Annual Allowance from the previous three years, you may not have a tax charge to pay this year.
Learn more about PSS
Get help understanding pensions tax
2025 Member Engagement Survey: Have your say!
Take part to enter the £100 prize draw
This year we’re asking you once again to share your views on the Scheme. Your feedback and comments help us understand what’s important to you and directly influences future activities, communications and events.
There’s also a chance to win £100 in Love2Shop vouchers in our prize draw, so please spend 10 minutes sharing your views.
Come and see us at Civil Service Live
Attend a presentation or come and talk to us on the CS pensions stand.
Your Pension: Having enough money in retirement
Pensions are not just a personal financial tool; they represent a commitment to ensuring that individuals can maintain their standard of living after they exit the workforce. As the world shifts towards a future with longer life expectancies and evolving economic landscapes, the importance of pensions in securing financial independence during retirement has never been more important.
How can I start planning?
Think about how much income you will need. The Retirement Living Standards are produced every year to give an idea of how much you may need in retirement.
Consider all sources of income. Your Civil Service pension may be one piece of the puzzle. Think about all pensions and income you may have. Use the Find Pension Contact Details to locate any ‘lost’ pensions schemes.
Think money. Budgeting with MoneyHelper’s free online tool helps you keep track of your money. Plus, it suggests ways to improve your finances. It gives you a place to record all your spending so you won't forget anything, and a breakdown of your finances by category and personalised tips to make the most of your money.
The Retirement Modeller
Pension Awareness Week 2025: Save the date
Back to Basics: Making Your Pension Easier to Understand
As a Civil Servant, if you have benefits in classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos or alpha you have a Defined Benefit pension. This offers a guaranteed annual pension, payable monthly for life.
Unlike other pensions, your benefits aren't based on the performance of investments but rather calculations that are centred around your length of service and pay.
There are other things to be mindful of too, such as an employer contribution of 28.97%, family benefits if anything was to happen to you and ill-health retirement benefits.
Benefits
Pension Power
Lifetime Allowance Has Been Abolished – What Does that Mean?
The Lifetime Allowance (LTA), which previously capped the total amount you could save into your pension pots before facing tax penalties, has been abolished and replaced by a Lump Sum Allowance (LSA).
Under the new rules, you can still build a pension pot with no overall cap, but there is now a limit on how much of your pension pot can be accessed as a tax-free lump sum at retirement.
The LSA is currently set at £268,275 (which is 25% of the LTA that was previously in place). You can take up to 25% of your total pension value as a tax-free lump sum, but any amount above £268,275 will be subject to tax. Members with LTA protections may have a different limit.
If your pension pot exceeds the previous LTA (£1,073,100) you won’t face the old 55% tax charge, but you’ll still need to consider how much you can take, tax-free.
Civil Service Pensions Podcast, Season 4
The award-winning Civil Service Pensions Podcast will be back for a fourth season in September 2025 with a run of 8 more episodes.
If you can’t wait, listen to episodes from seasons one, two and three on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to be notified when the new season drops.
Listen online via the scheme website too.
