I'm not from the UK, but my pension is based upon two separate factors: My salary AND my years of service.
Example: Say you have two people who start with the school system on the same day and retire on the same day (both with 30 full years) ... but one of them is a cafeteria lady and earns $10-12 her entire career, while the other begins as a teacher and works her way up to principal, earning close to 100K by the end. They'd both get a pension ... but the cafeteria lady's pension would be significantly lower (just as her salary was significantly lower for her whole career).
Having said that, it IS possible to make a few choices that optimize the pension:
- Never use a sick day. I can use my sick days to bring me up to 30 years service (at any age). I'm not sure how early you could retire if you literally never used a sick day, but at the moment I have almost two years' worth of sick days.
- Depending upon your marital status and your own health, you might choose maximum benefits for yourself or survivor's benefits.
- If you have a spouse or other family member who works for the state and has a large number of sick days, it might be possible for that person to transfer some /all to you.
- If you've taken time off for military service, maternity leave, or a few other specifics, you might have the option of "buying back" that time towards your years of service.
And, of course, I'm talking about benefits in my American state. I could be completely off topic.