This guidance is provided for the use of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) as administrator of the National Health Service Pension Scheme for Scotland ('NHSPS Scotland') and sets out how to determine the appropriate reduction or uplift to be applied to a member's benefits when retiring voluntarily in normal health.

No advice or factors issued for the NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland) 2015 (NHSPSS 2015) should be used for early and late retirement calculations in respect of NHSPS Scotland benefits.

The following changes have been made when reviewing this guidance:

• Important information around the expected audience for the guidance, use of the guidance, review of factors, compliance and limitations applies across all sets of guidance. Rather than being repeated in each set of guidance, this can now be found on the scheme home page. It is important to read this information alongside the guidance.
• Calculation methodology: No changes have been made to the calculation methodology.
• Examples: There are no examples in this guidance. Worked examples, using the calculation methodology, can be found in prior versions of the guidance (though please note that these use historic factors).
• Factor tables: The "Factor Tables" tab contains the names of the tables that are referenced in the calculation methodology. The tables of factors themselves can be found in the most recently published "Consolidated Factors Workbook" which is available by clicking the "Download current Consolidated Factors Workbook" button on the scheme's home page.
• Assumptions: The key assumptions underlying the factors in each note are contained in the Consolidated Factors Workbook.
• Regulations: The regulations that require the production of the actuarial factors and/or guidance that is the subject of this note are summarised in the "Regulations" tab.

This guidance only covers voluntary early or late retirements in normal health. In particular, this guidance does not generally cover reductions or uplifts to be applied in the cases of early retirement in ill health or guidance for early retirement in the interests of efficiency or on grounds of redundancy. A separate guidance is provided for such cases. Further factors to be used in abatement cases are also given in a different guidance.

The factors set out in the Factor Tables cover the following scenarios:

• Pension and lump sum factors for voluntary early retirement (main scheme, Additional Pension, Added Years pension, retirement lump sums) - from active and preserved status
• Adjustment factors for early retirement with mandatory lump sums
• Pension factors for late retirement (main scheme, Additional Pension)
• Adjustment factors for late retirement with mandatory lump sums.

Early retirement reductions and late retirement uplifts only apply to members' pensions. No adjustment is applied to dependants' benefits payable following death after retirement.

Early retirement reductions and late retirement uplifts as specified in this guidance should be applied before any commutation options are determined. Retirement lump sums are available by commutation of reduced/increased entitlement at the rate of £12 per £1 per annum of adjusted pension given up. The maximum amount of commutation should be determined based on the adjusted pension.

This guidance does however apply in a limited number of cases which do not fall under 'Voluntary early or late retirements in normal health'. For example, where benefits such as Additional Pensions are required to be reduced on retirement such as on redundancy or in the case of Added Years' benefits or unreduced lump sum benefits where the chosen date is age 65 but the member retires on ill health after age 60.