NHS Pension
My NHS Pension Password Rules and Login Help
Independent guidance — not affiliated with NHS England or DHSC
Short answer
The current NHS Pensions self-service portal is called My NHS Pension, accessed at mynhspension.nhsbsa.nhs.uk. It lets active, deferred and pensioner members view their Annual Benefit Statement, personal and service details, payslips and P60s (for pensioners), update contact and bank details, and add or amend death benefit nominations — all without going through a paper form. It does not replace a bespoke written pension Estimate for a hypothetical retirement scenario, and it isn't the same as your employer's Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Registration needs your National Insurance number, 8-digit membership number, and registration codes sent to you by NHS Pensions.
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NHS digital portals and their branding are periodically renamed, so this guide names the specific current portal and flags that explicitly rather than describing it vaguely as "the member portal." It's independent guidance, not affiliated with NHS Pensions, the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS England or DHSC.
The current portal: My NHS Pension
My NHS Pension is NHS Pensions' online account service, separate from your employer's own payroll system (ESR) and separate from any Total Reward Statement portal your trust uses. It's where you manage your own NHS Pension Scheme record directly with NHS Pensions, rather than through your trust's HR or payroll team.
Who can register
- ✓ Current contributing (active) members of the NHS Pension Scheme
- ✓ Deferred members — previously contributed, no longer working for the NHS, but with benefits still held in the scheme
- ✓ Members already receiving NHS Pension benefits
- ✓ Adult dependants receiving a dependant's pension
- ✕ Child dependants receiving a pension
- ✕ People holding a pension credit awarded following a divorce or dissolution
- ✕ Members with less than two years' scheme membership
- ✕ People receiving only an injury benefit pension
What it actually lets you do
What's available depends on whether you're still building up your pension or already drawing it.
- ✓ Active and deferred members: view your Annual Benefit Statement (ABS), review the personal details, salary history and service employments NHS Pensions holds for you, add a personal contact email, and add or amend your death benefit nomination
- ✓ Members receiving a pension: view your pension benefit details, access digital payslips and P60s, update your personal contact details and bank account, and add or amend your nomination
How to register and sign in
Gather what you need
Your National Insurance number, your 8-digit NHS Pension Scheme membership number (on a payslip, a Total Reward Statement, or any NHS Pensions letter personal to you), and two registration codes NHS Pensions has sent you.
Register at mynhspension.nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Set up a username, a password that meets the password rules below, your email address and security questions, then confirm your email.
Set up two-factor authentication
You'll need a 2FA code at every sign-in, sent by text message or generated through an authenticator app — choose whichever you have reliable access to.
Sign in whenever you need it
No need to wait for an annual mailing — the portal is available on demand, unlike a once-a-year posted or emailed statement.
ℹLost your registration codes?
Contact NHS Pensions directly rather than guessing at an old code or trying to register repeatedly — see How to Contact NHS Pensions for the current phone number.
My NHS Pension password rules (and what to do if you forget it)
NHS Business Services Authority, which runs My NHS Pension, publishes these rules for the password you create when you register. Your password must:
- be at least 12 characters long;
- be made up of upper or lower case letters;
- not include symbols; and
- not include numbers.
That is unusual compared with most accounts, which is why a password you have used elsewhere is often rejected: it probably contains a number or a symbol. A long, easy-to-remember phrase of plain letters (for example four unrelated words joined together) meets the rules.
If you forget your password: My NHS Pension lets you recover access by answering the security questions you set at registration (you choose and answer three; do not use punctuation or special characters in the answers), and you also get a set of recovery codes during registration to use if you lose the device that receives your two-factor sign-in code. Keep those codes somewhere safe. If you are still locked out, contact NHS Pensions: see how to contact NHS Pensions. Source: NHSBSA, My NHS Pension, checked 7 October 2026.
What the portal doesn't replace
My NHS Pension
Your Annual Benefit Statement, personal and service details, nominations, payslips — a self-service record, updated automatically once a year for the ABS figures.
A written Estimate
A bespoke calculation for a specific hypothetical scenario — a different retirement date, a reduced-hours partial retirement, or a transfer-in valuation — requested separately and taking up to 40 working days.
- ✕ It doesn't model different retirement ages interactively — that's what a dedicated calculator or a requested Estimate is for
- ✕ It doesn't replace your employer's Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system for payroll purposes while you're still working
- ✕ A portal update to your nomination is immediate, but the portal itself doesn't notify your nominated beneficiaries — that's still on you to communicate
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Why you can rely on this page
- ✓ We name the actual current portal (My NHS Pension) and its real URL rather than a generic, potentially outdated description
- ✓ Registration requirements and eligibility exclusions are drawn from NHS Pensions' own published guidance
- ✓ This guide is not affiliated with NHS Pensions, the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS England or DHSC
How to Get an NHS Pension Forecast from NHSBSA
The difference between your ABS and a bespoke written Estimate.
Updating Your NHS Pension Nomination & Beneficiary Details
How to update your nomination through the portal or by form.
NHS Total Reward Statement Explained
The broader annual statement some trusts provide alongside your ABS.
ESR Login Help for NHS Staff: Sign-In and Problems
How NHS staff sign in to ESR, the forgotten password link, the 5-attempt lock and who can reset it.
ESR Locked Account or Forgotten Password: What to Do
Short, problem-first fix for a locked ESR account or forgotten password.
Change Your Address or Bank Details with NHS Pensions
The routes NHSBSA publishes, bank account rules, overseas and name changes.
This guide is provided for general information only, is not affiliated with NHS Pensions, the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS England or the Department of Health and Social Care, and is not financial advice. For the current portal name, URL and registration process, use NHS Pensions' own site directly.
Frequently asked questions
What are the password requirements for My NHS Pension? +
Is 'My NHS Pension' the same thing as 'Member Self-Service'? +
I can't register because I don't have registration codes — what do I do? +
Can I see my full pension forecast for a hypothetical early retirement date in the portal? +
Why can't some people register for My NHS Pension? +
Is it safe to update my bank details through the portal? +
Budget day, 28 October: what it means for your NHS Pension
We'll email you on the day with what was announced and what it means for NHS Pension members. You also get the free PDF now.
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