Know Your Military Pension Entitlement (5 to 12-year men)
The consequences of recent legislation as it affects preserved pensions is that any member of the Armed Forces who left service after 1 April 1975 and served over five years, might be entitled to a preserved pension.
If you left the Armed Forces before 1 April 1975 but had not qualified for a full pension (that is had served at least 16 years after the age of 21 as an officer, or at least 22 years after the age of 18 for a Rating/Other Rank), then you have no entitlement to a preserved pension.
The cohort that might be entitled to a preserved pension; is limited to those who left the Armed Forces after 1 April 1975. We must now address the word ‘might’, and this changes over time between 1975 and 1988. This is because pension entitlement has been progressively amended since 1975 through subsequent primary legislation or subordinate Statutory Instruments.
Point to note – all veterans need to apply for their pensions (AFPS Form 8), they are not automatic.
The form will download automatically when this link is clicked.
Should you need advice contact the Armed Forces Pensions – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Or the Forces Pension Society – Championing Armed Forces Pensions since 1946