Scottish Public Pensions Agency - Contribution rates for firefighters: FOI release

Information requested

1) Can you provide me with the current contribution rates for firefighters, please?

2) Can you also provide me with information as to whether these contribution rates will change in future and when that may be and also if these new rates are already known can you also provide those new rates, please?

Response

1) The current employee contribution rates table is available to view in Regulation 110 of the Firefighters Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2015: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2015/19/regulation/110 which was most recently amended by the Firefighters' Pension Scheme (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2025/149/regulation/3/made

The employer contributions rate is set by Regulation 117 of the same Instrument and the current rate of employer contributions is 34.1% which was communicated in the SPPA Circular 2024/02: https://pensions.gov.scot/sites/default/files/2024-02/2024-02_Firefighter_Circular_Change_to_Employer_Contribution_Rate_from_1_April_2024.pdf

2) Employee contributions in public service pension schemes are required by HM Treasury to meet a yield of pensionable pay across the scheme membership. The yield for the firefighters’ scheme in Scotland is 13.2%, and rates are structured to deliver this. As part of the quadrennial scheme valuation process, the Government Actuary’s Department will assess the current and anticipated yield over the four years from 2027, based on agreed assumptions. The yield is currently being met so there are no plans to review the rates at the present time.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.