The Royal Mail scheme has undergone several changes which are outlined in this diagram. In summary:

If you commenced employment with the Post Office, or Royal Mail, on or after 1 December 1971 and before 1 April 1987, you will have benefits in Section B. This section of the Scheme was closed to new members from 1 April 1987 onwards.

If you joined the scheme after 1 April 1987 and before 1 April 2008 you will have benefits in Section C. 

If you joined the scheme before 1 December 1971 and didn’t transfer to Section B you will have benefits in Section A.

If you have benefits in Sections A, B or C and were still working for Royal Mail on 1 April 2018 you will have switched to building up benefits in the Cash Balance scheme. 

If you were a member of the Royal Mail pension scheme before and after 1 April 2012 then you are known as a ‘joint member’. This means your Royal Mail pension benefits are split over two schemes.

Any benefits earned before 1 April 2012 are paid by the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS). Any benefits earned after that date are paid by the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP). The RMPP’s website is www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk and you will need to go there if you joined a Royal Mail scheme after 1 April 2008 or have benefits in the Cash Balance scheme.

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If you have benefits in RMSPS but have not yet started to draw a pension from these benefits then you are a deferred member. Members may have benefits which are payable at age 60 and benefits which are payable at age 65, so may have a pension in payment and also some deferred benefits. You can find more information on how to claim your pension by reading the 'Taking my pension' FAQs.

Yes. The administration of the RMPP remains with the Royal Mail Group PSC, so members of both schemes will receive separate correspondence with respect to their RMSPS benefits and their RMPP benefits. There will be separate helplines and email addresses for each scheme.

If you joined the Royal Mail Pension Plan before 1 April 2008 you will have benefits in the RMSPS. You may also have RMSPS benefits if you were a partner or a dependant of a deceased RMSPS member and were eligible for a widow’s/ widower’s pension or a dependant’s pension.

When Royal Mail was privatised, the government took on the liability for paying pension benefits built up before 1 April 2012. These benefits were put a separate scheme: the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS). The Royal Mail Group PSC administered the RMSPS under a contract with Cabinet Office agreed in 2012. In advance of that contract expiring in 2018, the Cabinet Office undertook a procurement process which allowed other providers to bid for the work. Based on the published selection criteria, Capita were the winning bidder and were awarded the contract to administer the scheme.

The RMSPS was set up by the government to pay the pensions of Royal Mail Group employees who had built up funds before 1 April 2012 in the Royal Mail Pension Plan. As no one is building up any further benefits in the RMSPS, no contributions are paid to the Scheme. Instead, the government has promised to pay out the benefits that had already been built up by members using money from general taxation. This means that the Scheme has no investments of its own to be Sharia compliant; it simply uses government funds to pay benefits.

If you paid additional voluntary contributions (or AVCs) in the Scheme previously, then you may have had the option to choose where those contributions were invested. Depending on what you chose, these funds may not have been Sharia compliant. If you did pay AVCs, your money will be held by one of the Scheme’s AVC providers. They will have details of your funds and investment options and should provide you with an annual statement about your AVC fund. If you have lost touch with them, please contact us for information.

Any AVCs you paid before April 2008 as part of Addplan will not have been held as separate investments and are paid in the same way as your main pension.

You can find more details about how your benefits are worked out in the Guide to benefits. If you need any more information, please contact us.

If you started paying AVCs after April 2008 then you will have made contributions to a separate money purchase fund set up in your name. This fund will have been managed by Zurich Assurance, the scheme’s AVC provider. You could also have paid into a separate money purchase fund before April 2008 managed by either Equitable Life, Standard Life or Norwich Union whoever was managing the fund you paid into will have details of your fund value (if you left it invested with them when you left Royal Mail) and will send you an annual benefit statement each year. If you have lost touch with them, please contact us for information.

If you paid AVCs before April 2008 you may have joined Addplan. Addplan worked by allowing you to buy extra years of service in the RMPP scheme. If you took part in Addplan, any years you bought will be shown on your annual benefit statement. If you have any queries about Addplan, you should contact us.

You can find more details about how your benefits are worked out in the Guide to benefits. Your annual statement will also show what we think your service in the scheme is. If you think there are any errors in our records, please contact us.

Yes, Capita will still send out current value statements each year around September time.

The Royal Mail Group PSC are responsible for sending out your Benefit Illustration for your RMPP benefits. You can visit their website for more information. Capita will send you a separate statement of your RMSPS benefits.

If you made additional contributions to AVC arrangements (e.g. Flexiplan or Bonusplan) these will continue to be administered by the Royal Mail Group PSC.

You may be able to transfer your benefits to another defined benefit workplace pension arrangement. The RMSPS scheme is an unfunded government pension scheme and there are limitations as to where your benefits can be transferred.

If you only have Normal Retirement Age (NRA) 60 or NRA 65 benefits, you cannot transfer your pension after you have passed your NRA. Please also note that you will need to contact us at least 18 months before your NRA to request a transfer. If you have both NRA 60 and NRA 65 benefits, you can request a transfer value after your NRA as long as your NRA 60 benefits have not yet been put into payment. The cut-off dates for taking a transfer are shown below:

• NRA 60 benefits only – 59th birthday
• NRA 65 benefits only – 64th birthday
• NRA 60 and 65 benefits – 64th birthday (provided your NRA 60 benefits have not been put into payment)

You can also transfer out any Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) held in a separate fund without transferring your other benefits. For a quote relating to AVCs only, please contact the Pension Service Centre on 0345 603 0043.

You should seek independent financial advice prior to a transfer taking place. In some cases, you may be asked to provide evidence that you have taken advice. You can find out more on the government’s MoneyHelper website.

Section A/B members:
Your basic annual pension is based on 1/80th of your pensionable salary for each year of reckonable service. The basic lump sum is based on 3/80ths of your pensionable salary for each year of reckonable service before April 2008. The surviving spouse/civil partner’s pension is based on up to half of your own pension.

Section C members:
Your basic annual pension is based on 1/60th of your Final Pensionable Salary for each reckonable year of service. For reckonable service on and from 1 April 2008, your pension will have built up each year an amount equal to 1/60th of your pensionable salary for that year. You can choose to give up some of your pension in exchange for a tax free lump sum at retirement. Each year, any pension you had built up over previous years would also have been revalued in line with the annual increase (based on RPI – Retail Prices Index) to a maximum of 5% and a minimum of 0% each year.

This is titled Total Service on your statement and is the number of years and days used to work out your pension benefits.

Please note that your reckonable service takes into account any non-contributory and part-time periods and may, as a result, be shorter than the period between your date of joining the Scheme and date of leaving.

A lump sum will be paid if you die before you start taking your Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme pension. A lump sum may also be payable if you die within five years of receiving your pension benefits. The amount will depend on your circumstances. A pension may be payable to your spouse, civil partner or someone who is financially dependent on you.

The Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme may pay to a named beneficiary, subject to certain requirements. You can let us know who you would like to receive a pension by completing a ‘Dependant’s pension nomination’ form. Forms are available to download from the useful documents section on this website. If you are a Section C member you can also make changes to your nominations by registering and signing in to the online portal for the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme.

Section A/B members:
Your lump sum will automatically be paid to your personal representative(s) (the executors or administrators of your estate) unless you complete a `Direction of lump sum death benefit’ form for Section A/B. This can be downloaded from the useful documents section on this website.

If a lump sum is paid to your estate, it may be subject to Inheritance Tax. If a lump sum is paid to a nominee, it is generally paid free from Inheritance Tax.  If you have been receiving your pension for over five years there will not be a death benefit lump sum payable from the scheme however any unpaid arrears of pension may be payable.

Section C members:
Your lump sum will automatically be paid to beneficiaries nominated by you. The lump sum will not form part of your estate and so, under current law, is generally not subject to Inheritance Tax.

You can change your nominations by completing a ‘Nomination of lump sum death benefit’ form for Section C. This can be downloaded from the useful documents section on this website.

Whilst we take your most recent nominations into account when paying any death benefits, the Scheme Manager has the final decision on who receives any death benefit.

If you decide to move permanently to an overseas country for your retirement you will still receive your pension payments as you would in the UK. You will need to check we can make payments to your chosen bank account and make sure we have your new address. The only difference will be that your State Pension may not be increased (this depends on where you move to). If this is the case, RMSPS will take on responsibility for any pension increases paid on your GMP (see FAQ ‘What’s the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP). You can find out more about State Pension payments and living abroad on the Government’s website www.gov.uk. 

NRA is the age at which you can normally take your pension without reduction. Any benefits you earned before 1 April 2010 have a NRA of 60. Benefits earned after 1 April 2010 have a NRA of 65. You can opt to take all your benefits at once, but any benefits taken before NRA will be reduced for early payment. Alternatively you can take only your benefits with a NRA of 60 at age 60 and take your NRA 65 benefits later so they are not reduced.

You may be able to take your benefits early without a reduction if you are suffering from ill health. You can find out more about this in our Guide to benefits. 

The earliest you take your pension is age 55, though it will be reduced for early payment. If you are unable to work due to ill health, you may be able to take your pension before age 55 and without a reduction. If you are thinking about taking your pension early, please contact us for more information.

GMP is pension that you will have in the scheme in place of building up Additional State Pension from 6 April 1978 to 5 April 1997. If you were paying in to the scheme between these dates, you will have paid reduced National Insurance contributions in place of building up benefits in any additional State Pension scheme. In return some of your scheme pension was protected and particular rules applied to it.

If you were already receiving your State Pension before April 2016, you will have basic and additional State Pension amounts based on your National Insurance record. The GMP element of your pension in the scheme will also have been paid and pension increases will be made to this via the scheme and your additional State Pension each year.

Since April 2016, the new State Pension has been in place, which means that if you reach State Pension age after April 2016 you will only receive one State Pension. This means that your GMP pension will only be increased by the scheme but that you will receive the new State Pension which is currently guaranteed to be increased by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%. 

The pension supplement is payable to Section C members (those who joined between 1 April 1987 and 1 April 2008). It is paid if you retire before State Pension age and not in Royal Mail employment or if you retire early from Royal Mail, but before your State Pension age.

You can find out what your State Pension age is at www.gov.uk/state-pension-age. The pension supplement is not paid while you are working for Royal Mail and it stops once you reach State Pension age.

You can find out how the pension supplement is calculated in the Guide to benefits.

For your RMSPS benefits contact Capita. If you want to take your RMPP benefits contact the Royal Mail Group PSC. If you are approaching your Normal Retirement Age 60 or Normal Retirement Age 65 retirement date you will be contacted automatically by Capita. For more details about the retirement timeline and what you need to do, click here.

We know there is a lot to think about when it comes to retirement, and we want to help you with the practicalities of retiring. We have support in place from when you decide to retire right through to your first pension payment.

The following FAQs cover some of the most frequent queries we are asked.

Go to ‘I’m not receiving my pension yet’ on the website and follow the blue information boxes for videos, other FAQs and useful documents.

Our ‘Retirement Roadmap’ flowchart tells you everything you need to know about who to contact and when. You can find it at: www.royalmailsps.co.uk/support/useful-documents

You don’t have to take your benefits at your NRA. The earliest age you can currently take your pension from the Scheme is at age 55. This is increasing to 57 from April 2028. If you take your pension earlier than your NRA then it would be reduced. However, if you are unable to work due to ill-health, you may be able to take your pension before your NRA and without a reduction. You can delay taking your pension until your 75th birthday. If you are thinking of retiring before or after your NRA please contact us for more information.

You must take all your NRA 60 benefits at the same time (so those built up in the RMSPS and RMPP); the same applies to your NRA 65 benefits. You do not need to take your NRA 60 and NRA 65 benefits at the same time though. This will provide you with the opportunity to leave some of your benefits in the RMSPS, to take at a later date.

Please contact Capita for further details. Our contact details are here: www.royalmailsps.co.uk/contact-us

To process your retirement from the Scheme, we need you to complete the forms in the retirement options pack. This will be sent to you around four months before your NRA.

You will need to sign and date all the relevant forms. You will also be required to provide the following:

• Proof of identity (either your passport or photocard driving licence)
• Proof of address. This must be issued in your name and dated within the last three months. Examples include:
  • Statement from a bank/credit card/building society
  • Utility bill – telephone/electricity/gas/water/mortgage
  • A document issued from the Government or Local Authority
• Proof of marital status where you have indicated a status other than single.

If you are unable to provide any of the identification documents listed, please contact Capita as soon as possible. We won’t be able to accept certified copies of any documents.

To take all your benefits as a small lump sum, the value has to be under £10,000. We will let you know in your retirement options pack if you are eligible.

Your pension will be paid either weekly, monthly or quarterly. Capita will confirm this to you when processing your retirement.

Once you have confirmed your intention to retire and provided all the relevant documentation, Capita will contact your AVC provider and arrange for your fund to be disinvested. Once we know the final value, we can confirm the additional lump sum payable to you in respect of your AVC benefits. Capita will pay 90% of the provisional AVC fund with the remainder being paid upon receipt of the final disinvested value.

You will need to tell us about this pension in Part E and in which order you expect to take the RMSPS and RMPP pensions in. You will also need tell us in Part D if you have already taken some of your RMPP pension.

If you have a Protection Certificate, please include this when returning your retirement forms. There is more information regarding Protection Certificates here: www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension

The following organisations offer support or assistance with general questions you may have about your retirement or the LTA:

MoneyHelper - www.moneyhelper.org.uk

Citizens Advice - www.citizensadvice.org.uk

The Government’s MoneyHelper website provides free and impartial information if you need to find an adviser: www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/find-a-retirement-adviser

Section A/B members (members who joined the Scheme between 1969 and 1987)
The pension increase applied to pensions in payment will be 3.8% for 2026/27. The increase will take effect from 6 April 2026. If you retired between 8 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, your pension increase may be proportioned.

Your pension increase is currently based on the increase in Consumer Prices Index (CPI) from September to September.

Note: Increases may be lower if your pension includes an element called Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP). Your pension will include GMP if you worked between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997.

GMP equalisation (GMPe)

You may have been contacted by us previously if your benefits have been affected by GMPe. We are working through our calculations of this and will be in touch if your benefits are affected. For more information about GMPe you can visit our website www.royalmailsps.co.uk/faqs

Increases and Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP)

Pre-88 GMP
If you reached State Pension age (SPa) on or before 5 April 2016, the increase to the GMP element of your benefits built up before 6 April 1988 will be paid with your State Pension.

If you reached SPa on or after 6 April 2016, the increase to the GMP element of your benefits built up before 6 April 1988 will be paid by the Scheme.

Post-88 GMP
If you reached SPa on or before 5 April 2016, the increase to the GMP element of your pension built up from 6 April 1988 will be paid by the Scheme up to a maximum of 3%. If the increase is above 3% in any year, the balance above the Scheme limit of 3% will be paid with your State Pension.

If you reached SPA on or after 6 April 2016, the increases applied to this section of your pension will be the increase in the price index.

The GMP increase for 2026 will be 3.8% and will be applied from 6 April 2026.

An example of the impact of GMP on pension increase calculations is below:

Section A/B
A member receiving a pension of £8,000.00 a year with a pre-88 GMP of £1,500 a year and a post-88 GMP of £2,500 a year as at 24 March 2026 will see their increase applied in the following way:

• Pre-88 GMP: £1,500.00
• Post-88 GMP: £2,500.00
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000.00

Increase applied as follows:

• Pre-88 GMP: £1,500.00 (no increase) = £1,500.00
• Post-88 GMP: £2,500.00 x 3.0% = £2,575.00 (per the direction below that this example only covers pre 05/04/2016 SPa members)
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000.00 x 3.8% = £4,152.00

Total annual rate of pension from 6 April 2026 = £8,277.00

In the above examples the member reached SPa on or before 5 April 2016. Please see the above notes if you reach SPa after that date.

Section C members (members who joined the Scheme between 1987 and 2008)
The increase applied to your pension will be based on the increases in the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the previous September up to a maximum of 5%. This year’s increase is 4.5%. The increase will take effect from 6 April 2026. If you retired between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, your pension increase will be proportioned.

GMP equalisation (GMPe)

You may have been contacted by us previously if your benefits have been affected by GMPe. We are working through our calculations of this and will be in touch if your benefits are affected. For more information about GMPe you can visit our website www.royalmailsps.co.uk/faqs

Increases and Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP)

Pre-88 GMP
The increase to the GMP element of your benefits built up before 6 April 1988 will be paid with your State Pension.

Post-88 GMP
The increase to the GMP element of your pension built up from 6 April 1988 will be paid by the Scheme up to a maximum of 3%. If the increase is above 3% in any year, the balance above the Scheme limit of 3% will be paid with your State Pension.

If you reached SPa on or after 6 April 2016, the increases applied to this section of your pension will be the increase in the price index, up to a maximum of 3%. Any rise in the price index above 3% will not be paid.

The GMP increase for 2026 will be 3.0% and will be applied from 6 April 2026.

An example of the impact of GMP on pension increase calculations is below:

Section C
A member receiving a pension of £8,000.00 a year with a pre-88 GMP of £1,500 a year and a post-88 GMP of £2,500 a year as at 24 March 2026 will see their increase applied in the following way:

• Pre-88 GMP: £1,500.00
• Post-88 GMP: £2,500.00
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000.00

Increase applied as follows:

• Pre-88 GMP: £1,500.00 (no increase) = £1,500.00
• Post-88 GMP: £2,500.00 x 3.0% = £2,575.00
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000.00 x 4.5% = £4,180.00

Total annual rate of pension from 6 April = £8,255.00

The increase date for your pension this year is 6 April 2026, therefore the pension payment you receive in April will be increased only for part of the month.

April’s payment will be paid as follows:

• 1 to 5 April – will be paid at the old rate
• 6 to 30 April – will be paid fully at the new rate

May’s payment will be paid fully at the new rate.

Example
Annual pension as at 1 April 2026 = £10,000.00 (£833.33 per month)
Increase due = £10,000.00 x 3.0% = £10,300.00 (£858.33 per month)

April payment
Days in period x Monthly rate
Days in month

1 to 5 April = 5 days x £833.33 (old rate) = £138.88

1 to 30 April = 30 days

6 to 30 April = 25 days x £858.33 (new rate) = £715.27

1 to 30 April = 30 days

Total due in April 2026 is = £854.16

A P60 is an End of Year Certificate and shows the tax you’ve paid on your pension in the tax year (6 April to 5 April).

By law we must send you a P60. You should get a separate P60 for each of your pensions and/or jobs, but your P60 may include income from a previous pension provider/employment.

You’ll need your P60 to prove how much tax you’ve paid on your income if you need to:

• claim back overpaid tax
• apply for tax credits
• prove your income if you apply for a loan or a mortgage

This year your P60 and week one (or monthly) payslip will be combined in one letter.

If you are paid quarterly, you will receive details of your revised payments and P60 towards the end of May each year. This is to ensure you receive your information before His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) deadlines.

Your P60 shows the pension you’ve been paid and the tax deducted in the tax year 2025/26. Sometimes the amount shown before tax on your P60 will be different from your annual rate of pension for that year. This may be because:

• Your pension started during the tax year
• Your pension is paid in arrears and the first payment you received in the tax year included pension covering one or more days before 6 April 2026
• Your pension was not paid in full for the whole year

Your tax code normally changes because there has been changes in personal allowances and tax thresholds. Your tax code usually changes at the beginning of the tax year but it can change during the tax year if there have been recent changes to your circumstances.

Your tax code may have changed if you've recently:

• started receiving your State Pension
• started receiving a taxable benefit (for example State Pension or Jobseeker’s Allowance)
• finished work or started a new job
• started receiving other income, or
• applied for the marriage allowance.

If you think your P60 is wrong, please contact HMRC.

HM Revenue & Customs,
Pay As You Earn,
PO Box 1970,
Liverpool, L75 1WX

Telephone 0845 300 0627

Opening hours Monday to Friday: 8am - 8pm

Saturday: 8am - 4pm

The text phone for those with hearing or speech impairment is 0845 302 1408

As part of ongoing pension scheme updates, we want to remind you that the government has introduced new pension allowances from 6 April 2024. The LSA and LSDBA now govern tax-free lump sums, and these changes may impact the tax on any future lump sum payments.

A review has been carried out on the LSA used by the increase to your tax-free cash paid at retirement, and as a result the LSA figure shown on your P60 document has been updated accordingly.

We will be sending Current Value Statements between October and December.

If you’re an active joint member, you will receive your statement in October. If you are a deferred joint member or a Section B member, you will receive your statement in November. If you are a Section C member, you will receive your statement in December.

The graphic below illustrates the different member types and shows you which scheme covers which period.

It’s quicker to update your personal details on the online portal. If you haven’t registered yet, watch the video showing you how. We can also change details over the telephone. The team is available by calling 0333 222 0078 between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

You can view and download your current value statement on the online portal. If you haven’t yet registered for the portal, this video shows you how to register.

If you were a member of the Royal Mail pension scheme before and after 1 April 2012 then you are known as a ‘joint member’. This means your Royal Mail pension benefits are split over two schemes.

Benefits earned before 1 April 2012 are paid by the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS). Benefits earned after 1 April 2012 are paid by the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP).

If you joined a Royal Mail pension scheme after 1 April 2008 or have benefits in the Cash Balance scheme, go to the RMPP website.

This is the date you stopped building up benefits in the RMSPS – which is 31 March 2012.

This is what your pensionable salary was as at 31 March 2012 and is the pay upon which your RMSPS final salary benefits are calculated. Any additional amounts reflecting increases to your pensionable pay over inflation are paid from RMPP and should be reflected in your RMPP statement.

You can find details of your death benefits on the online pension portal.

Firstly, please check through these FAQs and our current value statement web page.

If you are still having difficulty reconciling your statements, please call the team on 0333 222 0078 between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday for help with your RMSPS statement. Or email your questions to enquiries@rmsps.co.uk

We do not have copies of your previous statements from the PSC. Please have them to hand when you call so that our agents can take a note of all the relevant information.

Your RMPP statement should be sent to you in mid-October – if you have not received it by the end of the month, please contact the PSC.

Deferred Joint member statements will be sent out in November. If you have not received your statement or need another copy, you can download it by logging into the online portal.

For simplicity the two values are combined.

If you require a statement prior to 2020 please contact the PSC.

Statements from 2020 onwards can be found by registering and logging on to the RMSPS online portal.

You can sign in using the link at the top of this page or find out how to register at a sign-up page at www.royalmailsps.co.uk/sign-up

Your retirement benefits have been calculated to a specific date based upon your actual retirement from the Scheme and are the final amounts expected to be paid to you. Any retirement figures provided in a retirement quote override those on your current value statement.

The portal is an online resource for RMSPS members. You can see the value of your benefits, update your personal details and contact the Scheme directly. Click here to watch our video about HOP.

No, it only takes a few minutes. Just make sure that you are a member of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme and have your National Insurance number to hand. Follow the instructions on screen and you will soon have access.

Yes, once you are registered you can update your bank details, change your address details and get all your payslips and P60 information.

You can see an illustration online if you’ve not already started taking your benefits.

Yes if you are a member of Section C. Log on to the portal and you can update your death benefit nominations. If you are a Section A or B member, you can download a nomination form here.

We would like to send more communications electronically to give us an additional channel to communicate about your scheme benefits and reduce our impact on the environment. You can help us start this by providing an email address we can use to contact you once you have registered on the portal.

The online portal lets you update your personal data. Log on to the portal and go to Personal details. You can update your information there.

GMP is the amount of income that we, the Scheme, must provide to you if you were working for the Royal Mail Group between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997 and contracted out of the Additional State Pension (ASP). During this period, you will have paid lower National Insurance Contributions and instead of the ASP, you would receive a guaranteed level of pension from the Scheme known as GMP. This is paid as a pension which is a guaranteed income for life.

If you qualify for GMP it will be paid from your 60^th birthday if you are woman, or your 65^th birthday if you are a man. There is no link with the increase in the State Pension Age (SPA).

Previously, state pensions were paid to men at age 65 and women at age 60. This meant that men and women built up GMP at different rates.

A 2018 High Court judgment ruled that pension schemes are required to equalise pension benefits between men and women in respect of GMP earned from 17 May 1990 to 5 April 1997.

We’ll be contacting members who may be affected in due course.

For more information about GMP, please watch our video here.

At the end of 2023 and early 2024, we issued letters to advise members that their GMP pension benefits with the RMSPS were being reviewed to make sure that they were at least equal to those of a member of the opposite sex. Since issuing those letters, we have been working to correct members’ benefits.

If you haven’t already, you will receive a further letter shortly. This is your GMPe impact letter, and it explains how your pension benefits have changed as a result of our GMPe review. If you have been underpaid, this letter will also confirm if you are entitled to any one-off lump sum and a breakdown of this per tax year

We will work out the amount of pension you built up between 17 May 1990 and 5 April 1997. Then we will work it out again over the same period, but as if you were a member of the opposite sex (so if you are female, we will work it out as if you were male). Everything else about the calculation will stay the same: for example, your age, salary, and the date you retired.

By doing this we will see if your current pension is less than if you were member of the opposite sex and if so, we will increase your current pension.

We will also work out if you received less pension in previous years, if this is the case a one-off additional payment (which includes interest) will be paid to you.

We will continue to monitor and review your pension to make sure that we are treating benefits equally for men and women.

Your GMP entitlement is deducted from the State Pension you are receiving or are due to receive. This calculation differs for the old and the new State Pensions:

• Under the Additional State Pension (ASP), a member’s GMP entitlement is deducted from the amount they would have accrued had they not contracted-out. The person is entitled to the remaining amount of the ASP.
• When the new State Pension was introduced in April 2016 a check was done by comparing State Pension entitlement under both the pre-2016 and post-2016 systems after adjusting for contracting out. The higher amount became that person’s ‘starting amount’ – their entitlement in April 2016. After this their GMP entitlement continued to be increased and they will also be able to increase their new State Pension up to the full level.

The impact letter you received (which was only issued to members affected by GMPe) confirms how your pension benefits have changed. Your pension may be lower or higher than if you had been a member of the opposite sex. If lower, then you would have been paid too little and your pension will increase going forward. If higher, then you would have been paid too much and your pension will decrease going forward.

We understand that waiting to find out about changes to your pension, large or small, can be a worry. However, please be assured that no member will be asked to pay back any overpayment made by the RMSPS in respect of GMP at any time.

The impact letter will outline both your current and new pension benefit entitlement and confirm when the change will be implemented. If you are entitled to receive a one-off lump sum payment (due to previously receiving less than you were entitled to), then the letter will confirm both the amount and payment date.

Please note: if you believe the amount of income tax that you have paid is incorrect or the change affects your tax position for periods covered by any arrears payment, you will need to contact HMRC directly and present this information to them.

Some members may receive a one-off additional payment to cover any missing pension they should have received up to now. The impact letter you received confirms the amount and when it will be paid.

Not necessarily. Your pension may be higher than if you had been a member of the opposite sex and so you may not have been disadvantaged. And even if you have been disadvantaged, since GMP is usually a small part of a pension, you might see little difference to your overall pension.

Some members may receive an increase to their pension.

Your pension will continue to be reviewed annually and any increase payable on your GMP will be included in the annual pension increase applied in April each year. You will receive a separate letter in 2026 to confirm any changes to your benefits as a result.

No, the Scheme has decided that no members will be required to pay any money back relating to past over payments.

If the pension in payment has previously been affected by a Pension Sharing Order, then this would have been allowed for in our calculations.

No, you won’t receive a letter. When you are approaching retirement, you will receive a quotation of your benefit entitlement at your retirement age, and this will include your GMP benefits. Any effect of GMPe will have been accounted for and this will be reviewed going forward to ensure it remains equal.

We are working through the implications of a court judgment and will update this information once we know the outcome.

You can find more information about GMP within our FAQs, in our dedicated GMP pages of this website or at www.gov.uk

You are taxed in accordance with the amount you are paid (e.g., if you are paid more, you are subject to an increase in taxation). If your benefits are higher than usual if you receive an increase and/or arrears, then this will result in two things:

• A final payment amount which differs from that in the GMP impact letter, when you receive it, which would include any arrears payment if applicable.
• A more significant reduction to the final value of your benefits than you might have expected due to an increase in the amount of taxation applied.

The LTA is the maximum value of pension benefits that you can take over your lifetime - from all registered pension schemes - without triggering specific tax charges. State benefits are not included in the calculation of the LTA. Go to www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/lifetime-allowance for more information.

When taking your benefits from the Scheme, you would have been asked to complete an LTA form which outlined the value of the pensions you may be entitled to or are receiving.

If your pension increases then you will be informed if there an tax implications by exceeding the LTA.

We will make further reviews of your GMP record throughout the period your pension is being paid to ensure that it continues to meet the requirements of GMPe between men and women. We will let you know if your pension changes in writing.

RMSPS are only managing the GMP equalisation changes for benefits in the RMSPS. If you have questions relating to other pensions that you may hold you may want to contact your previous employers or pension scheme.

Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is a limit to the total amount of pension benefits you could build up over your lifetime without incurring a tax charge. The LTA was £1,073,100 for the 2023/2024 tax year.

The Government abolished the charge for the 2023/2024 tax year and abolished the LTA in its entirety with effect from 6 April 2024. However, there could still be tax implications for you if there is an increase to your benefits as a result of Guaranteed Minimum Pension rectification (GMPr) or GMP equalisation (GMPe). This is because the uplift now being granted to your benefits will prompt a re-assessment of whether you paid the right amount of tax when you originally retired (now that the correct amount of taxable benefits that should have been paid to you at your retirement has been confirmed).

Your individual circumstances will determine whether or not there will be any tax implications and you should check if any of the below applies to you when deciding whether to take any action:

• If you have not received an increase to your pension as a result of GMPe or GMPr then you don’t need to worry about the LTA.
• If you have retired and taken your pension benefits from all your pension arrangements before 6 April 2006 then you don’t need to worry about the LTA.
• If you are a dependant member then you don’t need to worry about the LTA.
• If you have fully retired or have taken some of your pension benefits from 6 April 2006 then benefits from all your pension arrangements still count towards the LTA. There’s no limit on the amount of benefits that you can build up, but additional tax charges may be applicable on any benefits above the LTA when they were taken. If you are near to or have already exceeded your LTA, the changes to your pension as a result of GMPe or GMPr mean that you might therefore face additional LTA tax charges.
• If you know you have used up more than 100% of your LTA (by taking your benefits from this arrangement and/or another arrangements) or think this might be the case after receiving your GMPe/GMPr increase, then you should contact us using the details here:
• If you have ever applied to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for either Primary Protection, Individual Protection 2014 or Individual Protection 2016 – This protection may still be relevant to any benefits you wish to take as a lump sum in the future. Your LTA protection will continue to apply if you notify HMRC of the increase in your pension within a reasonable period. You will need to contact HMRC in writing. If you have Individual Protection 2016 you can notify HMRC online.
• If you have Fixed Protection, Fixed Protection 2014, Fixed Protection 2016, or Enhanced Protection then you don’t need to worry about losing your protection as a result of changes to your pension.
• If you have never applied to HMRC for any of the LTA protections listed above then the impact of pension changes on the forms of LTA protection listed above will not be relevant to you.

You can log on to the online portal for access to your pension details here. If you have not yet registered for your online account you can do quickly and easily by following the instructions online, by reading our ‘sign up’ page where you can see our registration animation.

If you need to correct any of your details, then you can update some of your personal details online through your secure online portal.  If you have not yet registered for your online account you can do quickly and easily by following the instructions online, by reading our ‘sign up’ page or viewing our registration animation.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the contact details held on our contact us page and shown below.

The RMSPS helpdesk team is available by calling 0333 222 0078 between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email the team at GMPqueries@rmsps.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can write to us at
Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme
GMP
PO Box 551
Darlington
DL1 9TX
United Kingdom

If you are concerned about your financial situation and the cost of living, there are a number of organisations or charities who you could contact for support or assistance.

The following organisations may be able to offer support or assistance:

• National Federation of Occupational Pensioners - www.nfop.org.uk
• Citizens Advice - www.citizensadvice.org.uk
• MoneyHelper - www.moneyhelper.org.uk
• The Government’s Help for Households - helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk
• Pension Tracing Service - www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
• Unions - you may be able to access advice from any unions that you are (or were) a member of

If you have a question about GMP equalisation, your benefits, or the Scheme, then please use the contact details shown below:

Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme
GMP
PO Box 551
Darlington
DL1 9TX
United Kingdom

Email: GMPqueries@rmsps.co.uk

Telephone: 0333 222 0078
Overseas: +44 1325 271 861

GMP is the amount of income that we, the Scheme, must provide to you if you were working for the Royal Mail Group between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997 and contracted out of the Additional State Pension (ASP). During this period, you will have paid lower National Insurance Contributions and instead of the ASP, you would receive a guaranteed level of pension from the Scheme known as GMP. This is paid as a pension which is a guaranteed income for life.

If you qualify for GMP it will be paid from your 60^th birthday if you are woman, or your 65^th birthday if you are a man. There is no link with the increase in the State Pension Age (SPA).

People who reached State Pension Age (SPA) before 6 April 2016 have the increases to their GMP paid by the government with their State Pension payments. Those who reached SPA after 6 April 2016 receive increases to all their Pre- and Post-88 GMP from the Scheme.

The Pensions Act 2014 introduced a new single tier State Pension for individuals retiring after 6 April 2016. Any increases for contracted out individuals, that used to be paid by the government alongside the Additional State Pension, are no longer paid. The Act confirmed the responsibility for paying the increases now lies with workplace pension schemes. This meant we needed to recalculate some pension increases under the Scheme and this is known as GMPc.

Note: GMPc is only applicable to Section A and B members.

Following changes to the state pension system in April 2016, all pension schemes have been checking the GMP part of members' records against those held by HMRC. In some cases, differences have been identified and correcting these differences is known as GMPr.

Your benefits will have changed as detailed in your impact letter to you, this will have outlined the change to your regular pension payment as well as whether you were entitled to a one-off lump sum payment.

Please note: if you believe the amount of tax that you have paid is incorrect or the change affects your tax position for periods covered by this arrears payment, you will need to contact HMRC directly and present this information to them.

No, you won’t. The Scheme has decided that no members will be required to pay any money back to the Scheme relating to past payments.

The impact letter you received will have confirmed whether or not you are entitled to any arrears payments from the Scheme. A payment ‘statement’ detailing the arrears due for each previous tax year, along with a total amount can be found on the back of the letter.

As you are taxed in accordance with the amount you are paid (e.g. if you are paid more, you are subject to an increase in taxation) and your benefits were higher than usual you will have paid more tax.

This will have resulted in two things:

• A final payment amount which differed from that in the GMP letter, which would include any arrears payment if applicable.
• A more significant reduction to the final value of your benefits than you might have been expecting due to an increase in the amount of taxation applied.

Please note: if you believe the amount of tax that you have paid is incorrect or this affects your tax position for periods covered by this arrears payment, you will need to contact HMRC directly and present this information to them.

If you have not yet registered for the portal, watch our video showing you how to register.

You can update your personal details on the online portal or by contacting us.

The RMSPS helpdesk team is available by calling 0333 222 0078 between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email the team at GMPqueries@rmsps.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can write to us at
Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme
GMP
PO Box 551
Darlington
DL1 9TX
United Kingdom

You can download your payslip(s) from the online portal.

It is possible. We are currently undertaking a further review of members’ GMP under a separate project to equalise GMP for men and women. More information about this can be found in our GMP equalisation (GMPe) FAQs. Some members may find that their pensions may change under GMPe, but we will write to affected members to let them know.

In addition, your pension may change in line with the annual pension increase which takes effect in April each year. You will have received a separate letter in 2024 to confirm any changes to your benefits as a result.

You can find more information about GMP at www.gov.uk.

There may be some members that have more than one legitimate record with both records impacted by GMP rectification or correction. As they would therefore have more than one ‘reference number’ then an impact letter would have been issued for each record.

If the pension in payment has previously been affected by a Pension Sharing Order, this has been allowed for in our calculations.

If you are concerned about your financial situation and the cost of living, there are a number of organisations or charities who you could contact for support or assistance:

• National Federation of Occupational Pensioners - www.nfop.org.uk
• Citizens Advice - www.citizensadvice.org.uk
• MoneyHelper - www.moneyhelper.org.uk
• The Government’s Help for Households - helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk
• Pension Tracing Service - www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
• Unions - you may be able to access advice from any unions that you are (or were) a member of