The retirement age of 55 for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 (AFPS 75) was set to reflect the career structure of the armed forces and standards of fitness and health we required of Service personnel. The majority of Service personnel who are members of AFPS 75 serve leave before the immediate pension point (16 years from age 21 for officers and 22 years from age 18 for other ranks) and their pensions are preserved until age 60 for service before 6 April 2006 and until age 65 for service after that date: very few members of the armed forces continue in service until age 55.
The question of normal retirement age was considered during the review which led to the introduction of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 05) in April 2005 and it was decided to keep it at age 55 for the reasons set out above. The preserved pension age for AFPS 05 members is 65. AFPS 05 does not feature an immediate pension point because provisions of the Finance Act 2004 prevent pensions in the new scheme being paid before age 50 except in the case of ill-health retirement. Instead, payments will be made under the Early Departure Payment Order 2005 which are aimed at drawing Service personnel through to at least age 40 with 18 years service, and then compensating them for the fact that the armed forces cannot offer the majority a career until age 55.