I am writing to confirm that I have now completed my search for the information you requested.

Request

You asked us:

‘I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to the NHS Pension Scheme.

Please could you provide the following information:

1. The number and percentage of eligible members of the NHS Pension Scheme who are opted out of active membership of the scheme.

2. When an eligible member opts out of active membership of the NHS Pension Scheme, they are required to select a reason for doing so on the opt-out form.

Please provide the opt-out reason categories used and, if available, the number or percentage of opt-outs recorded under each category for the most recent complete scheme year.’

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 4 February 2026.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Our response

Under Section 21 of the FOIA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

The information you requested is available from the link below:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/information-about-nhs-pensions/nhs-pensions-opt-out-data

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21

Advice and assistance

The information for the 2023/2024 financial year can be found within the 2024/2025 report as the report covers a two-year period for comparison. This can be found at the Opt-out Trend charts and Opt-out Reasons charts links.