Q: I am still working and not in receipt of any of he pension but continue to contribute towards the scheme on a monthly basis. Are you able to advise me whether zakat is payable on the NHS pension scheme in specific?
الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب
A: The NHS Pension Scheme, both pre April 2015 (final salary) and post April 2015 (average salary), is a defined benefit pension scheme in which the pension holder never secures ownership of the pension contributions prior to actually receiving the pension. Thus there is no zakat to pay on the pension value. Once, a pension payment is actually received following retirement, it will be liable to zakat if it remains on the zakat anniversary along with all the other zakatable assets. If it has been consumed by then there is no zakat to pay on it. For further details on zakat on pensions see: https://alqalam.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Zakat-on-Pensions-revised-V1b-latest.pdf