A structured estimate of the alpha ill-health pension tiers and the CSIBS injury benefit, with the published process and appeal windows. It shows the numbers; it never predicts a decision.
This is an estimate to help you plan and ask the right questions: it is not medical, legal, financial or pension advice and does not predict any decision. Benefits are decided by the Scheme Medical Adviser and the scheme manager.
If your health or an injury means you may not be able to keep working as a prison officer, two separate things can matter for your income. One is an ill-health pension from the Civil Service alpha pension scheme. The other is injury benefit from a different scheme, the Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme (CSIBS). This calculator estimates both from the published rules, so you can see the shape of the numbers before you talk to anyone.
It has three free views: Ill-health pension (the lower tier and the upper tier), Injury benefit (the CSIBS allowance and lump sum) and Process and appeals (the steps and time limits). Figures are as at 3 October 2026.
Please read this part carefully. The calculator cannot tell you whether you would qualify. Nobody can predict that from a web page. Whether you qualify, and at which tier, is decided by the Scheme Medical Adviser, an independent doctor, on medical evidence about you. The calculator only shows what the pension or allowance would be if a particular decision were made. It is information, not medical, legal or financial advice.
If you are unwell or injured and thinking about your future, speak to your POA representative or a solicitor early, before key dates pass. They can advise you on your own case in a way a calculator cannot.
People often mix these up, so it is worth being clear. The alpha pension is a pension scheme you pay into. Ill-health retirement is a way of drawing that pension early, on medical grounds, without the usual early-payment reduction. CSIBS is not part of the pension scheme. It is a separate, discretionary scheme for people hurt through their work, paid by the employer, and it can pay out whether or not you are in the pension scheme.
You can be considered under both, and they interact: the CSIBS annual allowance tops up your other pensions and benefits to a guaranteed minimum income, so an ill-health pension counts as income when the allowance is worked out. Prison officers in England and Wales and in the Scottish Prison Service are in the Civil Service scheme. Officers in the Northern Ireland Prison Service are in a separate NICS pension scheme run by the Department of Finance there, so the alpha figures here are not for them.
The rules are in regulations 70 to 76 of the 2014 alpha regulations. There are two tiers. For either, the Scheme Medical Adviser (SMA) must form the view that the breakdown in your health is permanent. For this purpose, permanent means the SMA expects it to continue until your prospective normal pension age. Alpha's normal pension age is the later of State Pension age and 65.
Lower tier applies where your health prevents you doing your own job or a comparable job. You are paid all the pension you have built up, immediately, with no reduction for taking it early. There is no enhancement: you get what you have earned, no more.
Upper tier applies where you are also unable to do any gainful employment, and you are not partially retired. You are paid the lower tier pension plus a top-up. The top-up under regulation 76 is your accrued earnings-related pension multiplied by A divided by B, where A is the years from leaving to the day before your prospective normal pension age, and B is the shorter of your years of service and the years in which you earned pension. In plain terms, it is your average yearly pension build-up multiplied by the years you have left to normal pension age.
| Item | Yearly pension |
|---|---|
| Pension built up (10 years at £928 a year) | £9,280 |
| Lower tier: all accrued pension, paid now, no reduction | £9,280 |
| Upper tier top-up: £9,280 x (20 / 10) | £18,560 |
| Upper tier total | £27,840 |
£928 is 2.32% of £40,000. These are illustrative figures before pension increases. The SMA decides the tier and Capita calculates the actual pension, so treat the upper tier figure as an estimate.
The SMA is a doctor who advises the scheme manager. Their opinion is what counts: whether your breakdown in health is permanent, and whether you can do your own job, a comparable job, or any gainful employment. The decision rests on medical evidence. We cannot tell you how a particular case will be judged, and we will not guess.
What is published is the process around the decision. Your employer notifies you of the SMA's report. That notification matters because the time limit for an appeal runs from it. If you disagree, you can appeal, and appeals are normally decided on new medical evidence rather than on a fresh argument about the same evidence. So it helps to keep your own records: occupational health reports, letters from your GP or specialists, and the dates of each step.
An appeal against an ill-health decision must be made in writing within three months of your employer notifying you of the SMA's report. There are three stages, and the last is decided by an independent Medical Appeal Board. New medical evidence is normally needed for an appeal to progress. If you think the process itself was handled wrongly, there is a separate internal disputes route, but it deals with procedure rather than medical judgement; ask for the current details.
Three months is short when you are unwell. If you may want to appeal, tell your POA representative or a solicitor straight away and make a note of the date you were notified.
CSIBS is for civil servants hurt through their work, including prison officers. It is discretionary, which means it is paid at the Minister's discretion under written rules. For an injury on or after 1 April 2003, the injury must have been wholly or mainly attributable to the nature of your duty. Injuries outside duty can count if they come from an attack directly attributable to being a civil servant, and so can diseases wholly or mainly caused by the nature of the duty.
Some things are excluded: ordinary commuting, an injury during your main meal break that is unrelated to your duty, and an injury wholly or mainly due to your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct. Whether an assault by a prisoner qualifies is not named in the rules. It is applied case by case, so do not assume either way and do not assume it is automatic. If you have been injured at work, see our guide to Civil Service injury benefits for prison officers and, for compensation routes, assault compensation.
The SMA makes two assessments. The first is the impairment of your earning capacity. The second is how much of your injury is attributable to duty: "wholly" means more than 90%, and "mainly" means more than 50% and up to 90%. If the injury is mainly but not wholly attributable, benefits are reduced to reflect that.
| Band | Impairment |
|---|---|
| Not appreciably affected | 10% or less (no award) |
| Slight | 11% to 25% |
| Impairment | 26% to 50% |
| Material | 51% to 75% |
| Total | Over 75% |
CSIBS pays an annual allowance that tops up your other pensions and benefits to a guaranteed minimum income, expressed as a share of your pensionable earnings. The share depends on the impairment band and your length of service. It is a top-up, so the more you receive from other sources, such as an ill-health pension, the smaller the allowance.
| Band | Under 5 years | 5 to under 15 | 15 to under 25 | 25 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slight | 15% | 30% | 45% | 60% |
| Impairment | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% |
| Material | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% |
| Total | 85% | 85% | 85% | 85% |
As well as the allowance there is a one-off lump sum, worked out as a share of pensionable earnings: one eighth for slight, one quarter for impairment, three eighths for material and one half for total.
Example: pensionable earnings of £40,000, a material impairment, and 15 to under 25 years of service. The guaranteed income is 75%, which is £30,000. If you already have £12,000 a year from other pensions and benefits, the allowance tops you up by £18,000. The lump sum is three eighths of £40,000, which is £15,000. This is only an illustration, and the actual outcome depends on the SMA's assessments and the Minister's decision.
A temporary allowance can also top up sick pay while you are on reduced or nil sick pay. For injuries from 1 April 2003, allowances are not reviewed for deterioration afterwards, so the assessment at the time matters. For work-related deaths, separate CSIBS death benefits exist: a partner can receive 45% of pensionable earnings, children 10% each (up to four) and a lump sum of six months' earnings.
A formal appeal is possible only on apportionment (how much of the injury is attributable to duty) or on the level of earnings impairment. It must be made within 12 months of the award decision, new medical evidence is needed, and up to two appeals are allowed. If the decision is that you do not have a qualifying injury at all, there is no formal appeal, only a written request for a review. Because the routes differ, it is worth getting help early from your POA representative or a solicitor.
This page is information, not medical, legal or financial advice. It is independent of HMPPS, the Ministry of Justice and the POA. The scheme administrator, which has been Capita since 1 December 2025, and the Scheme Medical Adviser make the actual decisions.
£19.99 one-off
An evidence checklist, a dated process timeline and a printable report with questions for HR, Capita and your representative.
Terms and refunds · Secure payment by Stripe · you can buy without creating an account.
It lets you draw your Civil Service alpha pension early on medical grounds, with no early-payment reduction. The Scheme Medical Adviser decides whether your breakdown in health is permanent, meaning expected to last until your prospective normal pension age, and which of two tiers applies.
Lower tier applies when you cannot do your own or a comparable job: you receive all your accrued pension immediately. Upper tier also requires that you cannot do any gainful employment and are not partially retired: you receive the lower tier pension plus a top-up. The top-up is your accrued pension multiplied by A divided by B, where A is years to normal pension age and B is the shorter of your service years and years of accrual.
With £40,000 pensionable pay for 10 years, £9,280 a year of pension is built up. With 20 years to normal pension age, the top-up is £9,280 x 20 / 10 = £18,560, so the upper tier pension is £27,840 a year. It is an estimate: the SMA decides the tier and Capita calculates the actual pension.
No. Whether you qualify and at which tier is decided by the Scheme Medical Adviser on medical evidence. The calculator only shows what the pension would be if a given decision were made. Please speak to your POA representative or a solicitor early about your own case.
Three months, in writing, from your employer notifying you of the Scheme Medical Adviser's report. There are three stages and the last is an independent Medical Appeal Board. New medical evidence is normally needed. Note the date you were notified.
CSIBS is a separate, discretionary scheme for civil servants hurt through their work. It pays an annual allowance that tops your other income up to a guaranteed minimum, plus a lump sum. For injuries on or after 1 April 2003 the injury must be wholly or mainly attributable to the nature of your duty.
Do not assume so. The rules do not name assaults, and whether an injury qualifies is judged case by case against the test of whether it is wholly or mainly attributable to the nature of the duty. Ask HR and your POA representative about your own case.
They are separate schemes and both can be considered. CSIBS tops other pensions and benefits up to a guaranteed minimum income, so an ill-health pension counts as other income when the allowance is calculated.
A formal appeal is only possible on apportionment or the level of earnings impairment, within 12 months of the award decision, with new medical evidence, and up to two appeals. A decision that the injury is not a qualifying injury has no formal appeal, only a written review request.
Deferred members cannot get ill-health retirement, but can claim their preserved pension early from age 55 with a reduction. If you are thinking of leaving because of your health, get advice before you resign.
Figures were checked on 3 October 2026. See our methodology and editorial policy.
Free tools for prison staff. No account needed.