Army pension chart: amounts by rank and years served
This chart shows roughly what an army pension pays by rank and length of service. The by-rank figures come from the official AFPS 75 pension codes; if your service is under AFPS 15 (anyone serving today), your pension is based on your own pay instead, so use the calculator for your figure.
Key takeaways
- AFPS 75 pensions are set by rank and years served, from published tables.
- Soldiers get an immediate pension from 22 years; officers from 16.
- Every AFPS 75 pension adds a tax-free lump sum of 3 times the pension.
- AFPS 15 (today's scheme) has no rank chart; it builds from your actual pay.
The chart: annual pension by rank
Figures are pounds a year of AFPS 75 pension, from the April 2025 tri-service pension codes on gov.uk. Add a one-off tax-free lump sum of three times the annual figure.
| Rank | 22 years | 30 years | Full career (34 to 37 yrs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporal | £13,425 | £17,174 | £20,454 |
| Sergeant | £14,684 | £18,785 | £22,373 |
| Staff Sergeant | £16,678 | £21,335 | £25,410 |
| WO2 | £17,917 | £22,920 | £27,298 |
| WO1 | £20,219 | £25,865 | £30,805 |
| Rank | 16 years | 25 years | 34 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | £17,439 | £24,653 | £31,867 |
| Major | £20,710 | £29,540 | £38,369 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | £27,056 | £39,464 | £51,873 |
| Colonel | £32,662 | £46,122 | £59,582 |
| Brigadier | £38,689 | £52,264 | £65,839 |
A Sergeant completing 22 years, for example, leaves with £14,684 a year for life plus a lump sum of about £44,052, all before any CPI increases.
What the chart does and does not tell you
The chart is AFPS 75 only. AFPS 75 pays by rank because it uses representative rates of pay rather than your personal salary; that is what makes a rank chart possible at all.
Anyone serving today builds pension under AFPS 15, which is career average: 1/47th of your actual pensionable pay each year, revalued annually. Two soldiers of the same rank and service length can have different AFPS 15 pensions, so no honest chart exists for it.
Treat the chart as a guide to scale, not a quote. Most leavers today have a mix of schemes (often AFPS 75 or 05 plus AFPS 15 after the McCloud remedy), and your split changes the answer. The calculator handles the mix for you.
The figures rise over time
Once in payment, army pensions are uprated every April in line with CPI (3.8% from April 2026). Preserved pensions are revalued too, so a figure from the chart grows between leaving and claiming.
The codes themselves are also republished each year with the armed forces pay award, so the by-rank amounts step up annually for new leavers.
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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.