A straightforward summary of the cookies and similar storage this site uses, why we use them, how to change your choice, and how long each one lasts. Last updated 10 October 2026.
The short version: we use the essential cookies needed to run the site, analytics cookies that count visits in aggregate, and advertising cookies set by Mediavine and its partners to serve the adverts that fund the site. In the UK, cookies that personalise adverts are only used if you agree. You can block or clear cookies in your browser at any time, and the calculators work fully either way.
Cookies are small text files that a website asks your browser to store on your device. Each one usually holds a short name and value, the address of the site that set it, and a date when it should expire. When you return to a page, your browser sends the relevant cookies back, which lets the site remember simple things between page views, such as a setting you chose or whether you have already answered a notice.
Similar technologies do much the same job under different names. Local storage and session storage keep small pieces of information in your browser without sending them back automatically on every request. We treat all of these the same way in this policy: if something is stored on your device to make the site work or to measure how it is used, we explain it here. A cookie cannot run programs, install software, or read other files on your device, and it cannot see your name or email unless you have typed those in and chosen to share them, which this site does not ask you to do.
It helps to keep two separate ideas in mind. The first is who sets the cookie: a "first-party" cookie is set by the site you are visiting, while a "third-party" cookie is set by a different company whose code runs on the page. The second is how long it lasts: a "session" cookie is deleted the moment you close your browser, while a "persistent" cookie stays until it reaches its expiry date or you clear it yourself. Both ideas matter below, because they decide whether a cookie needs your consent and how long it can follow you around.
The single most important distinction in this policy is between cookies the site genuinely needs and cookies you can take or leave. We treat these two groups completely differently, and the law does too.
These make the site work and keep it secure, so they are always on and do not ask for your permission. They are first-party and short-lived by design. In practice they do a small number of plain jobs: they remember that you have seen the cookie notice so it does not reappear on every page, they help serve content reliably, and they support basic security so a page loads the way it should. They do not remember anything sensitive about you, and they are never used to build a profile or to advertise.
Crucially, the calculators on this site run entirely in your browser. When you type a salary, a rank, or a length of service into an AFPS 75, 05 or 15 estimate, that figure is processed on your own device and is not written into a cookie, not stored on a server, and not sent to us. So the strictly necessary cookies never touch the numbers that matter most to you. If you want the full detail of what we do and do not collect, our privacy policy sets it out.
Analytics cookies are different. They are not needed to read a guide or to run a calculation. Their job is to tell us, in aggregate, which pages are useful: for example, how many people read the AFPS 15 guide, which calculators are opened most, and whether a page is failing to load. That feedback is what lets us spend our time fixing the pages serving personnel and veterans actually rely on, rather than guessing.
We have deliberately kept this measurement non-identifying. It records aggregate, low-detail signals such as page views, an approximate region, and a broad device type. It does not record your name, it does not store the pension figures you enter, and it is not used to build an advertising profile or to sell data. Analytics loads on every page. If you would rather we did not measure your visit, use a browser setting or extension that blocks analytics scripts, and nothing on the site stops working.
The adverts that fund this site are managed by Mediavine. Mediavine and the advertising partners it works with use cookies, pixels and similar technologies to serve adverts, measure how people interact with them and, if you allow it, choose adverts based on your interests. Most of these are third-party cookies, set by the advertising companies rather than by us.
In the UK and Europe, Mediavine shows its own consent notice before any cookie is used to personalise adverts. You can accept, reject, or choose purpose by purpose. If you reject, you still see adverts, but they are chosen from the page you are reading rather than from data about you. Visitors in US states with privacy laws see a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link instead. The figures you type into a calculator are never written to an advertising cookie or passed to an advertiser. The advertising section of our privacy policy lists what Mediavine collects and links to each partner's own policy.
The first time you arrive, a short notice at the bottom of the screen says that the site uses analytics cookies, with a link to this page. Pressing OK hides it. We store one small first-party record that you have seen it, so it does not reappear on every page; that is its only purpose. The notice covers analytics only. Advertising choices are made in Mediavine's consent notice, described above.
Stop analytics. Use a browser setting or extension that blocks analytics scripts, and your visits are not counted. Blocking or clearing this site's cookies also stops separate visits being linked together.
Change your advertising choice. Use the privacy settings link at the bottom of the page to reopen Mediavine's consent notice and change your answer.
Clear what is stored in your browser. If you delete this site's cookies and local storage through your browser settings, you also delete the record that you have seen the notice, so it shows again on your next visit.
Whichever route you take, blocking cookies never breaks the calculators, because the maths happens locally on your device. The worst that happens is that we no longer see your visit in our aggregate figures.
Some cookies on this site are set by third parties rather than by us. There are two groups: analytics, provided by Google Analytics, and advertising, managed by Mediavine.
Google Analytics sets its own cookies to count visits and tell genuine page views apart from accidental reloads. These cookies are used to produce the aggregate reports we read; they are not used by us to identify you, to advertise to you, or to follow you onto other websites.
Advertising cookies are set by Mediavine and the partners it works with. Some of them work across other websites to build interest-based advertising, which is why, in the UK and Europe, cookies that personalise adverts only load once you agree in Mediavine's consent notice. If you reject them, adverts still appear, chosen from the page content instead. Each partner, and its own privacy policy, is listed on the Mediavine Partners page.
If we ever add other third-party tools, for example embedded content or anything that would change this picture, we will list them here and, where the rules require it, ask for your consent before they load.
Cookies do not last forever, and the ones we rely on are deliberately short or modest in lifespan. The exact figures a provider uses can change, so treat the numbers below as the typical pattern rather than a fixed guarantee.
Strictly necessary cookies. Most of these are session cookies that disappear the moment you close your browser. The main exception is the record that you have seen the cookie notice, which is persistent on purpose so the notice does not reappear on every visit. It stays until you clear this site's storage.
Analytics cookies. Google Analytics cookies are usually persistent so that two visits a week apart can be recognised as the same return visit in aggregate rather than two unrelated strangers. As a rough guide, a typical analytics cookie lasts up to around two years, while some shorter ones expire within a day. You never have to wait for any of this: clearing the site's cookies removes them immediately, and blocking cookies for this site stops them being created.
Advertising cookies. Each advertising partner sets its own lifetimes, listed in its own privacy policy. Your answer in Mediavine's consent notice is remembered for up to six months, after which you are asked again. Clearing your cookies removes them at once.
You are always in control through your browser. Every major browser lets you view, clear, or block cookies, either for all sites or just for this one, usually under a settings menu named something like Privacy, Security, or Site settings. You can also choose to be warned before any cookie is set, or to wipe everything automatically when you close the browser.
Blocking or deleting our cookies will not break the calculators, because the maths runs locally in your browser. The only side effects are small and predictable: if you block the record that you have seen the notice, it will reappear each visit, and if you block analytics you will simply not be counted in our aggregate figures. Blocking advertising cookies does not remove adverts, it means the ones you see are not personalised. If you would rather not keep any cookies between visits, browsing in a private or incognito window is a quick alternative, since those windows usually discard cookies and local storage when you close them.
To show how the pieces fit together, here is an illustrative walk-through. Imagine a serving member of the Army visiting on a work laptop to estimate an AFPS 15 figure before a posting meeting.
On the first page, a short notice says the site uses analytics cookies, and they press OK. We store one small first-party record that they have seen it, and analytics counts the visit in aggregate. They open the AFPS 15 calculator and type in their pay and years of service. Those numbers stay on their laptop, are used only to produce the on-screen estimate, and are never written to a cookie or sent to us. In our aggregate reports, all we later see is that the AFPS 15 calculator was opened once from their approximate region on a desktop-class device, with no link back to who they are.
A fortnight later the same person returns from a home computer and would rather not be measured. They install a browser extension that blocks analytics, and from that page view onward the analytics code does not run on the home machine. The calculators behave exactly as before, because none of them ever depended on the analytics cookies in the first place. This example uses no real figures and is only meant to illustrate how the cookies work.
We may update this policy as the site grows. When we do, we will change the "last updated" date above. Material changes, such as introducing a new third-party tool, will be explained clearly rather than buried in legal text, and where the rules require it we will ask for your consent before anything new loads.
This site is independent and is not affiliated with the Ministry of Defence, Veterans UK, or JPAC. It provides estimates and general information about Armed Forces pensions, not regulated financial advice. Official pension forecasts come from Veterans UK using form 12 for serving personnel and form 14 for preserved members.