When you’d like to retire, you need to inform the People and Culture Office at least 4 months before your planned retirement date. This is to ensure the necessary actions are taken to pay your pension on time. The full retirement policy has further information.
If you are considering retirement or partial retirement, under normal circumstances, the Pay and Pensions Team will submit your request to retire or partially retire to Capita, the Civil Service Pension Administrator, around four months before your planned retirement date. Capita will then prepare your retirement quote and issue it to you, either by post or through the Members Portal, approximately two months before your retirement date.
Capita has advised, in an update dated 16 March 2026, that they are currently dealing with a significant backlog of outstanding pension quotations. As a result, they are prioritising quotations based on retirement date and estimate that it may take 3 to 4 months to clear the backlog.
At present, the Pay and Pensions Team are supporting colleagues who have already retired or who are due to retire within the next few months.
If you are considering partial retirement or full retirement, please contact the Pay and Pensions Team direct for an update on the current position with Capita.
If you’re retired on grounds of ill health, your entitlement will be based on your pension scheme. To find out which pension scheme you’re in and for further details, you should look at your contract. If you need a copy of this, contact the People and Culture Office on 0131 348 6500.
A range of options is available as you approach retirement. Stopping work entirely and drawing a pension is only one of these options. For more information, talk to your manager or contact the People and Culture Office on 0131 348 6500. You can also read the relevant policies here: