The issues that concern people who are leaving the Regular Armed Forces and joining the Reserve Service are probably easiest to understand if we handle this as they are raised with us, by way of Q&A, and today’s question is all about abatement.
Q. Will my pension be abated if I join PTVR?
A. For AFPS 75 members, abatement rules (which apply if you join the FTRS or rejoin the Regulars), do not apply unless your PTVR pay exceeds the difference between the rate of your Regular pay when you left Regular Service and your pension. This is most unlikely to happen to those in the PTVR as even a full career pension (34 years from age 21 for officers or 37 years from age 18 for other ranks) is less than 50% of an individual’s Regular pay.
AFPS 05 does not pay pensions before age 55, save in the event of Tier 2 or 3 ill health retirement, so the abatement question does not really arise for this group. The normal pension age for RFPS is 60 so, again, the issue does not really arise.
Check back tomorrow for the next question in this Q&A series
