​​​​Finding your unclaimed Civil Service pension

If you worked for the Civil Service, you may have built up a Civil Service pension.

However, we may not hold your pension record if:

  • you worked for an employer that was not part of the Civil Service
  • you did not build up enough qualifying service to earn a pension
  • your former employer did not send us your pension information

Follow the steps to trace your pension.

Step 1: Confirm you worked for the Civil Service

Check any old documents you may have. These might include:

  • a pension statement
  • a payslip
  • a letter from your employer
  • a document from HMRC that shows you paid into a Civil Service pension

If one of these confirms your membership in a Civil Service Pension Scheme, go to Step 3.

If you worked for a different organisations, such as:

  • Post Office
  • Police
  • Social Services
  • Local Authority
  • NHS

You’ll need to contact that organisation’s pension administrator. You can find their details using the free online Pension Tracing Service.

Step 2: Check whether you qualify for a Civil Service pension

Whether you built up a Civil Service pension depends on:

  • when you left employment
  • how long you worked in pensionable service (“qualifying service”)
  • your age at the time you left

Qualifying rules changed over time. Choose the period that applies to you.

​If your employment ended before 1 June 1972

You qualify for a Civil Service pension if you:

  • had more than 10 years’ qualifying service, and
  • were aged 50 or over when you left

If you do not meet both conditions, you do not qualify for a Civil Service pension.

We will not have a pension record for you.

If your employment ended between 1 June 1972 and 5 April 1988

You qualify for a Civil Service pension if you:

  • had more than 5 years’ qualifying service, or
  • were a woman who left on or after 6 April 1978 in the tax year you turned 60

If you qualify, go to Step 3. 

If you had fewer than 5 years’ qualifying service, you do not qualify. You should have received a payment when you left employment.  

We will not have a pension record for you. .

If your employment ended between 6 April 1988 and 5 April 2006

To qualify for a Civil Service pension you must either:

  • had more than 2 years’ qualifying service, or
  • were a woman who left in the tax year you turned 60, or
  • transferred a personal pension into the Civil Service scheme, or
  • had a previous Civil Service pension that was preserved

​If you qualify, go to Step 3.

If you had fewer than 2 years’ qualifying service and did not transfer benefits, you do not qualify. You may have received a refund or transferred your benefits to another scheme.

We will not have a pension record for you.

If your employment ended between 6 April 2006 and 1 May 2012

To qualify for a Civil Service pension you must have either:

  • had more than 2 years’ qualifying service, or
  • transferred a personal pension into the Civil Service scheme, or
  • had a previous Civil Service pension that was preserved

If you qualify, go to Step 3.

​If you had fewer than 2 years’ qualifying service and did not transfer benefits, you do not qualify. 

We will not have a pension record for you.

If your employment ended on or after 1 May 2012

To qualify for a Civil Service pension you must have either:

  • had more than 2 years’ qualifying service, or
  • transferred a personal pension into the Civil Service scheme, or
  • had a previous Civil Service pension that was preserved

If you qualify, go to Step 3. 

If you had fewer than 2 years’ qualifying service and did not transfer benefits, you do not qualify for a pension.

Step 3: If you qualify, contact us

If you know you contributed to a Civil Service pension, contact us:

  • your full name (including any previous names)
  • your date of birth
  • your National Insurance number
  • the name of your former Civil Service employer
  • the dates you worked for them

We will check our records and contact you with the next steps.

If you worked for another employer (for example, Post Office, Police, Social Services, Local Authority or NHS), use the Pension Tracing Service to get the correct administrator’s details.

If we tell you we cannot find your Civil Service pension record, and you have completed Step 1 and Step 2, go to Step 4.

Step 4: If you qualify but we cannot find your pension recor 

If we confirm you qualify for a Civil Service pension but cannot find your record, you’ll need to contact HMRC and ask for a written record of your contracted‑out service. 

Call HMRC on 0300 200 3500, or write to: 

​​National Insurance Contributions and Employer Office
HM Revenue and Customs 
BX9 1AN

Between 1978 and 2016, members of the Civil Service Pension arrangements were “contracted out” of the State Second Pension (S2P). This means you paid a lower rate of National Insurance. 

HMRC hold a record of this service, which you can request using a Subject Access Request (SAR).

​Once you receive the record, go to Step 5.

Step 5: Contact your former employer

Send your written contracted‑out service record from HMRC to your former employer.

Ask them to send your pension information to Civil Service Pensions.

Do not send it directly to Civil Service Pensions yourself.

Include:

  • your full name (including previous names)
  • your date of birth
  • your National Insurance number
  • the name of your former employer
  • the dates you worked for them

Once your former employer provides us with your pension information, we will contact you with your pension details.