Annual Salary

Eligibility 

All Regular Service personnel receive an annual salary. Regular Service personnel can apply to work part time under Flexible Service and, if agreed, will be paid proportionately less according to the percentage reduction in work. Volunteer Reserves can work full time for the Armed Forces and receive an annual salary if they are mobilized or fulfilling an Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contract. Those working on Additional Duties Commitment (ADC) or Part Time Volunteer Reserve (PTVR) terms are paid for the number of days or part days they work.  The daily rate payable is calculated by dividing the equivalent annual rate (adjusted for X-Factor) by 365¼.  

What’s it for? 

As part of the wider offer, pay is the core financial element which aims to adequately compensate Service personnel for the skills and experience they employ in the work that they do. 

What do I get? 

The levels of pay are set by the Government following recommendations made by the independent Armed Forces Pay Review Body or, for two-star officers and above, the Senior Salaries Review Body. The current rates of pay can be found in the Armed Forces Pay Award Directed Letter or if you don't have access to DefNet, the Armed Forces Pay Review Body report 2023 and the Senior Salaries Review Body Report: 2023. Alternatively you can use the pay award calculator.

You are paid through a system which allocates a level of pay based on a number of factors including rank, performance, experience, and trade/specialism. This system features Yearly Incremental Progression, which is conditional upon the performance level you achieved, as determined by the annual appraisal process.The current system for allocating levels of pay is Pay 16 .Trades are allocated to a level of pay using evidence informed by a process called Job Evaluation, which is a tried and trusted method of assessing the relative value of different roles, used by the Ministry of Defence since 1970. 

All pay is ‘pensionable’, (i.e. the amount of pay you receive determines the amount of pension accrued). 

Included within Annual Salary is X-Factor, which is an addition to pay to remunerate for the relative disadvantages of Service life. X-Factor for Regulars is set at 14½% and 5% for PTVR and ADC, with FTRS levels dependent upon the commitment level dictated by the appointment, at either 0%, 5% or 14½%.For more information check out the X Factor benefit page.

Some groups of personnel, such as pilots, special forces, and chaplains, are paid from Bespoke Pay Spines as they require long-term bespoke alternative pay structures. If you would like to find out more information on how much extra you get on top of your standard salary then visit 'the Offer' site for your Service in the section on 'Need more information?' below. 

PTVR personnel are also paid an annual tax-free bounty if they complete the specified training requirement and achieve their annual certificate of efficiency. The level of the bounty offered generally relates to the number of years served. 

Scottish Income Tax mitigation payments

Since  2017, the Scottish Government has been able to to set different income tax rates and thresholds in Scotland than the rest of the UK. If you are a Regular ‘Scottish taxpayer’ Service Person then each June you will receive a  mitigation payment if the income tax in Scotland is sufficiently higher compared to elsewhere in the UK.  There is a maximum cap on the amount paid and this will be reviewed annually following the Scottish Government’s announcement on tax rates and thresholds.  More information can be found on the Pay Pol Rem page Scottish Income Tax (DefNet access only).

How do I claim? 

This will be processed automatically by your Unit HR/Personnel Office. You can then view your payslip by logging onto JPA. The payslip user guide (which can be found at JPA user guides) tells you what you then need to do.