Retirement of officers from the British army is governed by royal warrants issued from time to time. The rules of 1889 permit officers to retire voluntarily with gratuities or pensions, and oblige them to retire at certain ages, or after a period of non-employment, on half-pay. Voluntary retirement on a gratuity of £1200 is allowed to officers other than those of the Coast Brigade Royal Artillery, Coast Battalion Royal Engineers, Royal Malta Fencible Artillery, Riding-masters and Quartermasters (q.v.), after twelve years' service, and to others on a pension according to rank and service. With certain modifications, the maximum rates are captains, £150 a year; majors, £250; lieutenant-colonels, £450. The age for compulsory retirement is forty-five for captains and officers of lower rank, with the exceptions named above, forty-eight for majors, fifty-five for lieutenant-colonels and colonels, sixty-two for major-generals, and sixty-seven for lieutenant-generals and generals. Non-employment for five years in any rank also entails retirement. Officers of the Indian Staff Corps and captains of the Royal Engineers do not come under these rules. The pensions granted in cases of retirement for age are, generally speaking, £50 more than those cited above, but for the three ranks of general officers they are £600 to £700, £750 to £850, and £900 to £1000 according to age.
Certain additions, generally in the form of gratuities, are allowed to purchase officers and officers of the late East India Company's Artillery and Engineers, in consideration of their altered prospects. The pensions of officers of the Indian Staff Corps are subject to regulations laid down from time to time by the Secretary of State for India. They are considerably larger in amount than those granted to the other branches of the service, and are affected by numerous rules as to furlough, length of service in India, &c., but no pension can be earned by less than twenty years' service.
Officers of the Coast Brigade Royal Artillery and
Coast Battalion Royal Engineers, inspectors of army schools, riding-masters, and quartermasters can earn a maximum pension of £200 a year, or the two first-mentioned classes if retired for age (fifty-five years) may receive the full pay of their rank. For the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery the maximum rates of retired pay are captains, £200 a year; majors, £300; lieutenant-colonels or colonels, £365.
Departmental officers receive retired pay at rates corresponding to those granted to other officers and on similar conditions as to age. Some of the highest rates are chaplain-general, £600; commissary-general, £800; director-general, Medical Staff, £1125.
The army estimates for 1891-92 provide for a total of £1,853,632 on account of retired pay and gratuities (£1,543,950), half-pay (£75,550), allowances to widows, &c. (£164,563), rewards for distinguished services (£12,400), pensions for wounds (£15,200) for officers; for warrant officers and non-commissioned officers, £1,856,207. In 1898-99 the corresponding figures were £1,938,206 for officers, and £1,802,335 for warrant officers, &c.
In the navy officers are placed on the retired list at sixty-five years of age if admirals or vice-admirals, sixty for rear-admirals, fifty-five for captains, fifty for commanders, and forty-five for lieutenants, with the option in each case of retiring five years earlier. Lieutenants and commanders are also retired compulsorily if they have not served for five years afloat, captains after seven years without service, and flag-officers after ten years. In 1891-98 there were some 2500 naval and marine officers on the retired list, costing about £760,000 a year. See PENSIONS, DISCHARGE.