More than 1,000 retired members of the Armed Forces are being asked to repay pension overpayments after the Ministry of Defence identified long-running calculation errors affecting its final-salary pension schemes. Some veterans have been told they owe more than £100,000, while campaigners are urging the Government to write off the debts.
The issue centres on mistakes in the administration of military pensions that resulted in retirees receiving higher payments than they were entitled to. Under Treasury rules, public bodies are required to recover overpayments, even when recipients were not responsible for the error.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says it intends to recover the money through repayment plans designed to reflect individual circumstances. Veterans and campaign groups, meanwhile, argue that those affected should not bear the financial consequences of mistakes made during the administration of the schemes.
Pension Errors Affect More than 1,000 Retired Service Personnel
According to The Telegraph, the overpayments arose from errors in the Armed Forces’ two final-salary pension schemes, which provide guaranteed lifetime incomes for around 432,000 retired personnel. The MoD estimates the total value of the mistake at approximately £5.1 million.
The department first identified the issue in November 2024, although affected pensioners only began receiving letters during 2026 explaining how much they were required to repay. In some cases, the overpayments accumulated over several years, leaving veterans with repayment demands exceeding £100,000.
According to The Telegraph, the Forces Pension Society (FPS) has identified 398 cases linked to what it describes as the incorrect application of National Insurance modification rules. The organisation also says it is aware of more than 1,000 additional cases involving divorce calculations and similar pension errors.
Campaigners have called on the Treasury to write off the overpayments, arguing that those affected received the payments in good faith and were not responsible for the mistakes. Maj Gen Neil Marshall, chief executive of the FPS, described the situation as a “failure of leadership, oversight, process and quality assurance”.
Veterans Describe the Financial Impact as Repayments Begin
Among those affected is James Uncles, a 71-year-old former warrant officer who served 35 years as a naval aircraft engineer. According to The Times, he was informed that he owed £45,687 following overpayments dating back to 2021.
His monthly pension was reduced by more than £1,000, representing almost a quarter of his income, while an additional £750 will be deducted each month over five years to recover the outstanding amount. Mr Uncles said the financial impact had forced him and his wife to postpone plans to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Another veteran, retired Navy captain Michael Evans, was told he must repay £16,000 and will see £414 deducted from his monthly pension. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said he felt the Government was defending administrative errors rather than supporting former service personnel.
The MoD said it would recover the money “in a sensitive and proportionate way“. A department spokesperson said that where payments had been made in genuine error, it had a responsibility to recover taxpayer funds while providing tailored repayment plans and one-to-one financial and welfare support through veterans’ services. Equiniti, the payroll administrator, also said affected members would receive appropriate support throughout the repayment process.
