#2026/523Armed Forces Pension Amendment Regulations 2026
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The regulations make targeted fixes to UK armed forces pension and early departure payment rules. They correct a past drafting defect, update transitional wording, and clarify how ill-health pension reviews interact with early departure payments. The main practical effect is for service personnel and former members who receive, or may qualify for, Armed Forces Pension Scheme benefits. If a review finds that a person should receive an ill-health pension for serious loss of capacity to work in their occupation, early departure payments stop from the date that pension becomes payable, avoiding overlapping benefits.
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Key Changes
- Replaces a fixed 1 April 2015 reference in transitional pension rules with each member’s transition date.
- Ends early departure payment entitlement when a review grants an ill-health pension that becomes payable.
- Clarifies the ill-health pension test by focusing on the member’s ability to carry on their occupation.
Obligations
What this law requires
If a person receiving early departure payments becomes entitled, following a review of ill-health awards under regulation 58 of the Armed Forces Pension Regulations 2014, to an ill-health pension under regulation 52, early departure payments must cease from the date the regulation 52 pension becomes payable.
For transitional provisions in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme Order 2005, administrators must apply the member’s transition date instead of treating 1 April 2015 as the relevant fixed date.