Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 188371 on Armed Forces: Pensions, for what reason military service undertaken before the age of 18 does not fall under the band of brothers principle.

The only Armed Forces Pension Scheme in which service before the age of 18 is not taken into account when calculating the value of the pension is the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75) for Regulars, which has existed in various forms since 1914, and which was closed to new entrants on 5 April 2005, on the introduction of the modernised AFPS 2005. In AFPS 2005 and the subsequent AFPS 2015, membership begins on the individual’s first day of paid service, irrespective of age upon joining the Regular Armed Forces.

The origin of the different ages from which service in the ranks is reckonable is not readily determined. Age 18 appears to be long-standing, representing the start of adult service and reflecting earlier entry being through an apprentice-type route. The requirement of 22 years is again of very long-standing. It is likely that this was associated with a concept that age 40 represented the normal limit for a career in the ranks.