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The Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) (Amendment) Order 2026

S.I. 2026/272 · Made 4 March 2026

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

PENSIONS

Made 4th March 2026

Laid before Parliament 12th March 2026

Coming into force 6th April 2026

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(2) of the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004f1.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2004 c. 32.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Extent
  3. 3Amendment of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011
  4. 4Amendment of Article 2
  5. 5Amendment of Article 14
  6. 6Amendment of Article 24A
  7. 7Amendment of Article 24D
  8. 8Amendment of Article 83
  9. 9Amendment of Schedule 2
  10. 10Amendment of Schedule 3
  11. Signature
  12. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) (Amendment) Order 2026 and comes into force on 6th April 2026.

2Extent

This Order extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

3Amendment of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011

The Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011f1 is amended in accordance with articles 4 to 10.

4Amendment of Article 2

In article 2 (interpretation)—

(a)

omit the definition of “the FTRSPS 2010”;

(b)

omit the definition of “the NRPSPS”;

(c)

insert, in the appropriate places, the following—

  • ““the FTRS 1997” means the Full-time Reserve Service Pension Scheme 1997, the rules of which are set out in Schedules 1, 2 and 3 to the Reserve Forces (Full-time Reserve Service Pension Scheme 1997) Regulations 2010f1;”;

  • ““the NRPS 2011” means the Non Regular Permanent Staff Pension Scheme, the rules of which are set out in Schedules 1, 3 and 4 to the Reserve Forces Non Regular Permanent Staff (Pension and Attributable Benefits Schemes) Regulations 2011f2;”;

(d)

in the definition of “ill-health pension”—

(i)

for “FTRSPS 2010” substitute “FTRS 1997”;

(ii)

for “NRPSPS” substitute “NRPS 2011”.

5Amendment of Article 14

In article 14 (interpretation of Part 3), paragraph 6(b) omit the words from “following” to “paragraph 6(a)”.

6Amendment of Article 24A

In article 24A (award of armed forces independence payment), in paragraph (3), for “£187.45” substitute “£194.60”.

7Amendment of Article 24D

In article 24D (payment of armed forces independence payment in respect of Motability), in paragraph (2), for “£77.05” substitute “£80.00”.

8Amendment of Article 83

In article 83 (additional bereavement grant), in paragraph (5)—

(a)

for “FTRSPS 2010” substitute “FTRS 1997”;

(b)

for “NRRSPS” substitute “NRPS 2011”.

9Amendment of Schedule 2

(1)

Schedule 2 (modifications for reserve forces) is amended in accordance with this article.

(2)

In paragraph 4, in paragraph (6)(b) of the substituted article 35—

(a)

for “FTRSPS 2010” substitute “FTRS 1997”;

(b)

for “NRPSPS” substitute “NRPS 2011”.

(3)

In paragraph 5, in paragraph (1)(c) of the substituted article 39—

(a)

for “FTRSPS 2010” substitute “FTRS 1997”;

(b)

for “NRPSPS” substitute “NRPS 2011”.

10Amendment of Schedule 3

(1)

Schedule 3 (the tariff and supplementary awards), Part 1 (descriptors, tariff levels and amounts – “the tariff”) is amended as follows.

(2)

In Table 3 (mental disorders) substitute—

“(*) Mental disorders must be diagnosed by a registered mental health professional (doctor, psychologist or nurse) working as part of a multidisciplinary mental health team which is overseen by a named consultant clinical lead.”

for—

“(*) Mental disorders must be diagnosed by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist at consultant grade.”.

(3)

In Table 8 (fractures and dislocations) after item 41 insert—

“

41A13Fracture of coccyx which has required or is expected to require operative treatment and has caused or is expected to cause significant functional limitation beyond 26 weeks.

”.

(4)

For Table 10 (tariff amounts), substitute—

“

Table 10

Tariff Amounts

Column (a)

Level

Column (b)

Amount
1£674,700
2£502,496
3£406,273
4£310,051
5£187,100
6£149,680
7£96,223
8£64,148
9£42,766
10£28,867
11£16,572
12£10,691
13£6,415
14£3,207
15£1,283

”.

Signature

Louise Sandher-Jones

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Ministry of Defence

4th March 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/517)(“the Principal Order”), which provides for benefits to be payable to, or in respect of a person by reason of injury, illness or death caused wholly or partly, by service in the regular or reserve armed forces.

Article 4 updates the definitions for the Full Time Reserve Service Pension Scheme 1997 and the Non Regular Permanent Staff Scheme to align with references in other armed forces legislation.  Articles 8 and 9 update references to these schemes accordingly.

Article 5 amends article 14(6) of the Principal Order to allow all decisions following reconsideration to satisfy Condition B.

Article 6 amends article 24A of the Principal Order to increase the amount of the allowance known as “the armed forces independent payment” which is designed to provide financial support to cover extra costs that a recipient of that benefit may incur as a result of a relevant injury. That amount is increased to £194.60 per week.

Article 7 amends article 24D of the Principal Order to increase the amount that may be paid in settlement of liabilities due under an agreement between a claimant and Motability in respect of the hire or hire purchase of a vehicle. That amount is increased to £80.00 per week.

Article 10 amends Schedule 3 to the Principal Order by specifying additional medical professionals who may diagnose mental disorders for the purposes of the descriptors in Table 3. It inserts a new descriptor into Table 8, to make one temporary award permanent, and also amends Table 10 to increase the relevant tariff amounts.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.