Armed forces pension age and retirement age
People mean two different things by armed forces retirement age: the age you leave the Service, and the age your pension is paid. They are set by different rules. Each Service sets its own leaving ages through engagements and commissions, while the age your pension is paid is set by your pension scheme and is the same whether you served in the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines or RAF. This guide covers both.
Key takeaways
- There is no single armed forces retirement age. Each Service sets its own: the Royal Navy's is "typically age 55", and the Army says it has "no single retirement age".
- Most careers now run in stages: a 12 year first stage, then 20 years' service or age 40 (whichever is later) in the Naval Service and RAF, with further service up to 55 or 60.
- Your pension age depends on your scheme, not your Service. AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 pay an immediate pension if you leave at 55 or over, AFPS 15 at 60 or over.
- Leave earlier and you may still get an income straight away: an AFPS 75 Immediate Pension, or an Early Departure Payment after 18 years and age 40 (AFPS 05) or 20 years and age 40 (AFPS 15).
- Otherwise your pension is preserved or deferred and paid later: at 60 or 65 under AFPS 75, at 65 under AFPS 05, and at State Pension age (or 65 if higher) under AFPS 15.
- You need at least 2 years' qualifying service to get any pension at all.
Retirement age and pension age are not the same
The age you leave depends on your engagement or commission, which your Service sets. The age your pension starts depends on which armed forces pension scheme your service falls under and how long you served. The two often line up, because engagements were designed around the pension points, but they are separate rules and it helps to look at them one at a time.
If you are not sure which scheme you are in, which AFPS scheme am I in? will tell you from your joining date.
Armed forces retirement age by Service
The MOD's position, in a written answer to the House of Lords in January 2024, is that "The single Services have responsibility for setting their own retirement ages." For the Royal Navy it said that "retirement age in the Royal Navy is typically age 55", with service from 55 to 60 or beyond offered case by case. For the Army it said "There is no single retirement age for Army personnel; retirement age varies depending on the commitment made with each Service Person." For the RAF it said service can be extended beyond the mandatory end date only on "an exceptional Service need".
In practice your leaving age follows from your engagement or commission. These are the current rules for Regulars.
| Service | First stage | Second stage | Further service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army soldiers | 12 years (Versatile Engagement, Short) | 24 years (Full), 30 years (Long) | Normally to age 60, exceptionally to 65 |
| Army officers | 12 year Short Service Commission | Intermediate Regular Commission to 20 years, Regular Commission to 34 years | Up to a maximum of 60 |
| Royal Navy ratings | 12 years | 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later, on reaching Leading Hand | By selection; retirement typically at 55 |
| Royal Navy officers | 12 years | 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later | Full Commission to age 55 |
| Royal Marines other ranks | 12 years | 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later, on reaching Corporal | By selection only |
| RAF other ranks | Up to 12 years | 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later | Extensions to age 60, subject to Service need |
| RAF officers | 12 year initial commission | To 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later | On promotion to squadron leader: ground officers to 30 years' service, aircrew to age 60 |
To estimate your own pension, use the Army pension calculator, the Royal Navy pension calculator, the Royal Marines pension calculator or the RAF pension calculator.
Royal Marines retirement age
No official source publishes a single Royal Marines retirement age. Other ranks join for 12 years, move automatically to 20 years' service or age 40, whichever is later, when they qualify for promotion to Corporal, and serve beyond that only by selection. That second-stage end point is the same as the AFPS 15 Early Departure Payment point, so a Royal Marine who completes it leaves with an income. The Navy's "typically age 55" statement does not name the Royal Marines, so do not read it across.
If you joined before 2015
Older engagements were built around 22 years. The Army's Open Engagement had a 22 year maximum until the Versatile Engagement replaced it for recruits from 1 January 2008, and the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and RAF also enlisted for terms of up to 22 years before their current rules. That 22 years lines up with the AFPS 75 Immediate Pension point for other ranks, 22 years from age 18.
How long you have to serve to get a pension
The rules are the same in all three Services. Only your pension scheme matters.
| What you get when you leave | AFPS 15 | AFPS 05 | AFPS 75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any pension at all | 2 years' qualifying service | 2 years' qualifying service | 2 years (for leavers from 6 April 1988) |
| An income straight away, before pension age | EDP: 20 years' service, leave at 40 or over and before 60 | EDP: 18 years' service, leave at 40 or over and before 55 | Immediate Pension: officers 16 years from age 21, other ranks 22 years from age 18 |
| A full immediate pension because of age | Leave at 60 or over | Leave at 55 or over | Leave at 55 or over |
So the answer to "how long do you have to be in the Navy to get a pension" is 2 years for a pension of some kind, paid later, and 18 or 20 years (or 22 under AFPS 75) for an income from the day you leave.
When your pension is paid, by scheme
These ages are the same for every Service.
| AFPS 75 | AFPS 05 | AFPS 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is in it | Joined 1 April 1975 to 5 April 2005 | Joined 6 April 2005 to 31 March 2015 | Joined from 1 April 2015, and all Regulars from 1 April 2022 |
| Normal pension age (leave at or after it for an immediate pension) | 55 | 55 | 60 |
| Early income | Immediate Pension at 16 or 22 years, at any age, paid flat to 55 | EDP if you leave between 40 and 55 with 18 years | EDP if you leave between 40 and 60 with 20 years |
| Early income ends | Not applicable: the Immediate Pension is for life | The day before your 65th birthday | The day before your deferred pension age |
| Preserved or deferred pension paid at | 60 for service before 6 April 2006, 65 for service after | 65 | State Pension age, or 65 if that is higher |
| Paying a preserved or deferred pension early | The age 65 part can be paid from 60, reduced | From 55, reduced | From 55, reduced |
| Linked to State Pension age? | No | No | Yes |
A preserved or deferred pension is not paid automatically. You claim it, and our preserved pension guide explains how. An AFPS 75 Immediate Pension is paid flat until 55, and at 55 every increase since you left is added in one step, with nothing back-paid for the years before. Our guide to the armed forces pension increase at 55 shows what that adds up to.
How State Pension age affects your forces pension
Only AFPS 15 is linked to State Pension age. Its deferred pension, and the end of an AFPS 15 Early Departure Payment, are tied to your State Pension age, or 65 if that is higher. If State Pension age rises, the AFPS 15 deferred pension age rises with it, including for pension you have already built up. The legislated timetable raises State Pension age to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046, and it is reviewed regularly.
AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 use fixed ages (60 and 65, and 65) that do not move with State Pension age.
One tax change works in your favour. The minimum age for taking most pensions rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, but uniformed service schemes are exempt, so you can still draw armed forces pension benefits from 55. A personal or civilian workplace pension you also hold will have to wait until 57. Our guide to the armed forces pension and the State Pension covers how the two pensions fit together.
If you have more than one scheme
Everyone still serving on 1 April 2022 moved into AFPS 15 for their future service. Pension already built up in AFPS 75 or AFPS 05 is protected and paid when it would have been paid anyway. So one person can have two or three pension ages: for example, an AFPS 75 preserved pension paid at 60 and 65, and an AFPS 15 deferred pension paid at State Pension age.
Service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 is also affected by the McCloud remedy, which lets you choose which scheme's rules apply to that period.
If you served less than 2 years
With less than 2 years' qualifying service there is no pension, and because the schemes are non-contributory there is no refund of contributions either. Leavers with between 3 months and 2 years' service do have a legal right to a cash transfer sum, which the MOD did not tell people about for years. Our guide to the armed forces pension cash transfer sum explains who can claim it.
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Frequently asked questions
James Hartley
James Hartley spent 22 years in the British Army, including unit personnel administration and pensions and records duties, and now writes the scheme guides and scenario pages on this site. He is not a regulated financial adviser, so the content is general information rather than personal advice.
Sources: gov.uk · GAD factors · Veterans UK · Forces Pension Society · MoneyHelper.