Police pension schemes

Police officers in England and Wales belong to one of three schemes, depending on when they started. Anyone who joined from 1 April 2015 is in the Police Pension Scheme 2015, a career average scheme with a normal pension age of 60. Officers who started earlier may have service in the 1987 scheme, the 2006 scheme, or both, and some of them now have a choice to make about the years between 2015 and 2022.

The three schemes side by side

The Home Office members’ guide sets out the differences in one comparison table. This summarises it.

	1987 scheme	2006 scheme	2015 scheme
Type	Final salary	Final salary	Career average
Build-up	1/60 of earnings a year for 20 years, then 2/60 a year, maximum 30 years	1/70 a year, maximum 35 years	1/55.3 of each year’s pensionable earnings, no maximum
Open to new joiners	No	Closed to new members before 1 April 2015	Yes, for everyone joining from 1 April 2015
Normal pension age	See below	55	60

The guide describes the 1987 scheme as “closed to new members”. The 2006 scheme also pays a separate lump sum on retirement, while in the 2015 scheme a lump sum comes only from giving up part of your pension.

When you can retire

Pension age varies a lot more in the old schemes. In the 1987 scheme you can retire at any age with 30 years’ service, or from 50 with 25 years. Constables and sergeants with under 25 years’ service retire at 55, as do inspectors up to chief superintendent in the Metropolitan Police. In all other cases it is 60. A deferred 1987 pension, for someone who leaves the force early, is payable from 50 with 25 years’ service and otherwise from 60.

The 2006 scheme has a normal pension age of 55. If you leave before 55, the deferred pension is payable at 65.

The 2015 scheme pays an unreduced pension from 60. Take it earlier and it is actuarially reduced. The guide gives a rule of thumb of between 4 per cent and 5 per cent (cumulative) for each year you retire early, and says the figure is reviewed from time to time. There is also a floor, the normal minimum pension age, below which the pension cannot be taken early unless it is an ill-health case. If you leave the force before age 55, the GOV.UK pages say payment is deferred to State Pension age. Check yours on the State Pension age guide.

The early retirement guide compares the way different public sector schemes treat early leavers.

How the 2015 scheme builds your pension

Each scheme year ends on 31 March. At that point 1/55.3 of your pensionable earnings for the year is added to your pension account. The balance is then revalued every year until you retire. While you are an active member the increase is CPI plus 1.25 per cent, and once you stop being an active member it is CPI only.

Because it is career average, a pay rise late in your service adds a smaller slice than it would have in the 1987 scheme, where the pension was tied to final pay. The police pay scales have the figures that feed into it.

You can swap up to a quarter of your pension for a tax-free lump sum. In the 2015 scheme every £1 of pension given up pays £12 of lump sum. The guide says the 1987 scheme pays around £20 for each £1 given up, with the exact rate depending on your age.

Death and ill-health cover

If you die in service, a lump sum is paid: 3 times final pay in the 2015 scheme and in the 2006 scheme, 2 times pensionable pay in the 1987 scheme. A spouse, civil partner or declared partner also receives a pension. Under the 1987 scheme the lump sum goes only to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

Ill-health retirement works in tiers. The GOV.UK pages say the 2015 scheme allows you to retire before 55 without reduction if you are forced out through ill health. Injury benefits are separate from all three pension schemes and run under different regulations.

The remedy choice for 2015 to 2022 service

If you were in the force before April 2015, you were probably protected from the move to the new scheme, and that protection was found to discriminate against younger officers. The remedy period runs from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. The legacy schemes closed to further service on 1 April 2022 and continuing officers moved into the 2015 scheme.

For service in the remedy period, you get what the Home Office calls a deferred choice underpin. At retirement you choose between your legacy scheme benefits and 2015 scheme benefits for those years. You can ask for a Remediable Service Statement setting out both. Once the scheme manager has sent it, you have twelve weeks to choose. If you do not choose, the default is your legacy benefits, and the Home Office says it will not normally treat silence as a choice of the 2015 scheme.

The same dispute affected other public services, and the McCloud remedy guide explains the background.

Where to get your own figures

Your force’s pension administrator can tell you which scheme or schemes you hold and issue a statement. The figures above apply in England and Wales, and the contribution rates have changed since the Home Office guide was written, so ask for the current ones. A recruit weighing up the job can read about it in the police constable job profile.