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FOI-02838
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting the following information regarding the NHS Pension Scheme 1995 Section for the most recent year available (e.g., 2024 or 2025):
1. The total number of members with entitlements under the 1995 Section (active, deferred, or pensioner members).
2. The number of members currently claiming their 1995 Section pension benefits.
3. The number of members eligible to claim their 1995 Section benefits (e.g., at or above normal pension age of 55 or 60) but not yet claiming.
4. If available, a breakdown of non-claimants by age group (e.g., 55-59, 60-64, 65+) or status (e.g., Special Class, Mental Health Officer).
Please provide the data in a digital format (e.g., Excel or PDF). If exact figures are unavailable, please provide the closest available estimates or explain why the data cannot be provided.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 16 May 2025.
We clarified this request on 5 June 2025:
I am writing to ask you to clarify your request. This is because we need further details from you in order to identify and locate the information.
Therefore I would be grateful if you would answer the below queries regarding your request:
1. Please can you clarify what you mean by ‘entitlements’. Does this refer to all members with 1995 benefits, whether they are actively accruing them, deferred or currently claiming them on a pension? Please note members may appear in multiple groups; would you like them counted in each group they meet the criteria for, or grouped in a priority order?
2. Normal Pension Age for the 1995 section is 60. Members with Special Class of MHO status are eligible to retire at 55 (without reduction), however this status is not verified until they make a pension claim. We can identify members who have evidence of these markers on their record, but it doesn’t mean they are entitled to actually go at 55; conversely they might be eligible to go at 55 and we have not been advised of the special status’ yet – how would you like us to treat members with any of these markers present?
3. We can breakdown non-claimants by age group. If you would like a breakdown of ‘status’ please can you specify exactly hat status’ you would like the members grouped by? Please note that members can be flagged as having both MHO and Class Status.
You responded on 5 June with the below
Thank you for your response requesting clarification of my Freedom of Information request regarding the NHS Pension Scheme 1995 Section. Below, I address your queries to provide the necessary details:
1. Definition of ‘Entitlements’: By ‘entitlements,’ I refer to all members with benefits under the 1995 Section, including:
a. Active members (currently accruing benefits), b. Deferred members (no longer accruing but entitled to future benefits), and c. Pensioner members (currently claiming benefits). Please provide the total number of members across these categories. If members appear in multiple groups (e.g., active and deferred), please count them in each group they meet the criteria for, with a note indicating any overlap to avoid double-counting in the overall total.
2. Treatment of Members with Special Class or Mental Health Officer (MHO) Status: For members with Special Class or MHO markers on their record, please include them in the data as follows:
a. Identify members with these markers as potentially eligible to retire at age 55 (without reduction), but note in the response if their eligibility is unverified until a pension claim is made.
b. If possible, provide a separate count of members with Special Class or MHO markers who are aged 55 or older and not yet claiming, acknowledging that some may not have confirmed eligibility or may not have reported their status.
c. If data on unverified status is unavailable, please include these members in the general non-claimant counts (e.g., aged 55–59 or 60+) with a note explaining the limitation.
3. Breakdown by Status: For the breakdown of non-claimants, please group members by the following statuses, if available:
a. Special Class Status,
b. Mental Health Officer (MHO) Status,
c. Members with both Special Class and MHO Status,
d. Members with neither status (standard 1995 Section members with a normal pension age of 60). If a member has both Special Class and MHO Status, please count them in a separate category for dual status to avoid overlap. If this breakdown is not feasible, please provide an explanation and group non-claimants by age only.
4. Age Group Breakdown: Please provide a breakdown of non-claimants by the following age groups:
a. 55–59,
b. 60–64,
c. 65 and above. If additional granularity (e.g., single-year increments) is available, please include it, but the above ranges are sufficient.
5. Restated Request for Clarity: To summarize, I am requesting:
a. The total number of members with 1995 Section benefits (active, deferred, pensioner), with overlap noted if members appear in multiple categories.
b. The number of members currently claiming their 1995 Section pension benefits.
c. The number of members eligible to claim (aged 55 or older for Special Class/MHO, or 60 or older for standard members) but not yet claiming, broken down by age groups (55–59, 60–64, 65+) and, if possible, by status (Special Class, MHO, both, or neither).
d. Data for the most recent year available (e.g., 2024 or 2025) in a digital format (e.g., Excel or PDF).
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Our response
I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached.
Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.
The data in this response is correct as of 23 June 2025.
There are currently 1,948,820 members currently with entitlement to 1995 Section benefits. These members may be actively contributing towards 1995 benefits, currently holding deferred 1995 benefits, in receipt of 1995 pension benefits, or any combination of the three.
There are currently 1,882,905 members in receipt of some form of 1995 Section benefits.
There are currently 67,324 members who have some unclaimed active or deferred benefits in the 1995 Section, and are either over age 60, or are over age 55 and have a Mental Health Officer (MHO) / Special Class marker on their pension record.
A full breakdown of members by their 1995 Section status, Early Normal Retirement Age (NRA) Entitlement, and Age Bracket is provided on the attached spreadsheet.
Members show as actively contributing to the Scheme, if they have an open employment in which they are paying pension contributions on.
It was not possible to contribute to the 1995 Section from 1 April 2022, however as we have non-updated 1995 employments which pre-date 1 April F2022, these are considered as actively contributing posts. Once updates are received, it is expected these posts will be terminated, and if the employment is continuing, then the contributions will be made into the 2015 Scheme.
In the event a member has unclaimed 1995 benefits but retains a final salary link while currently accruing 2015 service, the member will still be categorised as Deferred.
Members who are no longer in receipt of benefits – i.e. those who are deceased – are not in scope for this FOI.
Members who have no entitlement to 1995 Section benefits – i.e. those who have claimed a refund, transferred out service, or have insufficient service to only be entitled to a refund – are not in scope for this FOI.
Entitlement to claim benefits at age 55 without reduction (due to MHO or Special Class Status) is determined at the point of claim. Members with either of these markers are reflected in the relevant group, however they may not have entitlement to claim benefits at age 55. Additionally, there may be members who don’t currently have these markers, who prove to be entitled to either MHO or Special Class Status when they come to retire.
Age brackets are provided based on their age as of 9 June 2025.
Data Queries
Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.
Reusing the data and copyright
If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.
Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.
Data and Resources
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA) |
| Contact | Information Governance |
| Version | 1.0 |
| State | active |
| Last Updated | June 27, 2025, 14:00 (UTC) |
| Created | June 27, 2025, 12:08 (UTC) |