Where we have had to use technical terms, we show them in bold and explain them at the back of the guide.
The guide does not cover every aspect of classic plus. The full details are contained only in the rules which are the legal basis of the scheme. Nothing in this guide can override the rules and, in the event of any difference, the rules will apply. You should bear in mind that the guide is based on the rules in force at the time of publication; your pension and associated benefits will be worked out using rules that are relevant to your period of service.
Your pension, together with your pay, forms part of your total benefits package. This is your guide to the range of benefits to which you may be entitled as a member of classic plus.
classic plus is one of the pension schemes in the Civil Service pension (CSP) arrangements.
The arrangements cover all civil servants and certain groups of non-civil servants, subject to eligibility. For ease of reference, we use the term ‘civil servant’ in this booklet.
After 31 March 2015, with the introduction of the new scheme alpha, no person is in or is eligible to be in pensionable service under classic plus unless the person is a protected member. This is because all other members would have transitioned into the alpha scheme from 1 April 2015.
A protected member means either a full protection member or a tapered protection member.
If you have transitioned into alpha and you want to find out more about how this affects your pension, you should read the alpha scheme guide.