Pension Plain is an editorial site for UK public sector pension members. We write plain-English explainers about the seven main schemes — NHS, Teachers, Civil Service, Armed Forces, Police, Firefighters, and the Local Government Pension Scheme — and the McCloud remedy that affects all of them.
The aim is simple: make pension information easy to understand without making it less accurate. No jargon. No sales pitch. Just clear answers about complicated, important things.
About the editor
Pension Plain is written and edited by James Heppe-Smith.
James is the founder of The Savvy Investor’s Guide, a UK personal-finance education site covering ISAs, SIPPs, retirement planning, and tax-efficient investing for British and American audiences. He has spent the past several years writing about UK pension structures — including the public sector schemes covered here — and saw a gap between the technical depth of official guidance and the plain-English explanations that ordinary members actually need.
He’s not an FCA-regulated financial adviser and Pension Plain is not regulated by the FCA. What he does have is a long-running interest in making complicated financial topics accessible, a researcher’s habit of going to source documents, and a willingness to ask awkward questions of pension trustees and scheme administrators when the published guidance is unclear.
What this site is — and isn’t
Pension Plain is an educational reference. Every article is designed to help you understand the rules of your scheme, the choices you face, and the trade-offs involved. We cite primary sources where they exist, explain technical terms in plain English, and update articles when the rules change.
Pension Plain is not a substitute for regulated financial advice. We don’t know your circumstances. We can’t tell you whether the McCloud “deferred choice” is right for you, whether you should commute your lump sum, or whether you should consolidate AVCs. Those decisions depend on your specific situation — your other pensions, your tax position, your family circumstances, your retirement plans.
For decisions that depend on your circumstances, talk to a regulated independent financial adviser, your scheme administrator, or contact MoneyHelper — the UK’s free, government-backed money guidance service.
Editorial standards
Articles on Pension Plain follow a few principles:
- Plain English. No jargon without an explanation. No technical terms where ordinary words will do.
- Primary sources. We link to scheme rules, government guidance, and official scheme administrator documents wherever possible.
- Show the working. Where there’s calculation, we show the maths. Where there’s interpretation, we say so.
- Update or retire. When pension rules change, articles get updated and date-stamped. When rules change so significantly that an article is wrong, it’s retired or rewritten.
- Errors corrected promptly. If you spot one, please tell us and we’ll fix it. Substantive corrections are noted at the foot of the article.
Corporate information
Pension Plain is published by VitaVerse LLC, a Wyoming-registered holding company.
- VitaVerse LLC, 30 N Gould St, Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801, USA
- The site is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not provide regulated financial advice
VitaVerse LLC is also the parent of Heppe-Smith Publishing (cozy fantasy and indie publishing services). The Savvy Investor Limited (registered in England and Wales, company no. 14816921) is a separately-owned company also operated by James.