The Cash Equivalent Value (CEV OR CETV)

This is the figure that confuses people most. It looks like a “pot value” — but it is not.


You may also see this referred to as a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, or CETV, depending on the context.

In plain English, this is the actuarial cash value placed on your NHS pension rights for a specific purpose, such as divorce proceedings or certain permitted transfers. It is not the same as having a pension pot with that amount sitting in it.

A CETV is a statutory cash equivalent value calculated using actuarial factors supplied for the Scheme. It is not the same as a personal pension pot, and it is not necessarily the same as the open-market cost of replicating the same income.

For many doctors, the open-market cost of buying an equivalent inflation-linked, life-long income would be materially higher than the CEV. This gap is structural, not just a temporary market anomaly — a commercial annuity provider is not pricing against the same public-sector covenant.

A few practical consequences follow from this:

  • The CEV/CETV is the standard disclosure figure used in divorce proceedings and underpins pension sharing administration. However, it should not automatically be treated as the true economic value for offsetting without specialist pension-on-divorce input.

  • It is the wrong figure to use to decide whether your NHS pension is “good value” compared to a private defined contribution pot.

For members with two or more years’ qualifying membership, transfers from the NHS Pension Scheme to defined contribution, personal pension, SIPP, stakeholder, cash balance or other flexible benefit arrangements are generally not permitted. Transfers may still be possible to another registered defined benefit scheme, a registered occupational pension scheme that is part of the Public Sector Transfer Club, a QROPS that is an occupational defined benefit scheme, or in limited cases to a registered insurance company to buy out annuity-style benefits. All transfers remain subject to NHS Pension Scheme rules, receiving scheme acceptance, HMRC and statutory due diligence, applicable time limits, and completion before the member’s normal pension age.

NHSBSA confirms that members may be asked for a CETV in divorce proceedings, and BMA guidance confirms that preserved NHS Pension Scheme benefits generally cannot be transferred to a DC scheme permitting flexible access, although DB and certain QROPS routes may remain possible subject to rules and time limits.