Your pension benefits may be reduced by an "earmarking" or a pension sharing order issued on divorce, dissolution of a civil partnership, annulment or judicial separation – see Divorce and your pension section.
Also, in certain circumstances a benefit payable under FPS 2015 can be reduced or withdrawn under forfeiture and "set-off" rules.
A fire and rescue authority may withdraw the whole or part of a pension, permanently or temporarily, if the person otherwise entitled to it has been convicted of an offence of treason, or an offence under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989, or an offence committed in connection with their Scheme employment and which is certified by the Secretary of State either to have been gravely injurious to the interests of the State or likely to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.
A pension would not be paid to a dependant convicted of the murder of the firefighter from whose pension rights a dependant's pension would otherwise be derived; in the case of manslaughter, the fire and rescue authority have discretion to withhold all or part of the pension.
Forfeiture of benefits and/or "set-off" may apply if a Scheme member has a "relevant monetary obligation" to the employer or has caused a "relevant monetary loss" to FPS 2015 in circumstances arising out of the member's criminal, negligent or fraudulent act or omission – in some cases in connection with their Scheme employment. But if there is a dispute between the member and the authority about the obligation or loss, the benefits cannot be withheld unless there is a court order or a similar determination following arbitration.
An authority has the power to require a person who may have entitlement to a benefit under the Scheme to provide supporting evidence of entitlement. Failure to do so may mean that benefits are withheld.