PENSIONS

Following a decision of the Court of Appeal in relation to similar schemes for Judges and Fire Fighters, the Home Secretary admitted that the forcible transfer of some police officers onto the 2015 scheme amounted to unlawful discrimination. 

 The 2015 Police Pension Regulations contain ‘transitional arrangements’ which were designed to protect those closest to retirement from the disadvantages of the 2015 scheme. Some officers were entitled to remain as active members of the 1987 or 2006 PPS. Some were entitled to remain on the earlier scheme for a certain period of time after which they would be forced onto the 2015 scheme. Officers with less time in service were forced onto the 2015 scheme and would no longer be able to accrue pension rights under the earlier pension scheme.

 The Court found that these regulations unlawfully discriminated against younger officers.

 The government has stated its intention to correct the discriminatory effects of the 2015 pension schemes. We do not yet know what amendments the government will make or when they will come into force; however the government launched a consultation on the 16th July 2020 seeking views on its proposed method of implementing changes to remedy the unlawful discrimination. It is considering offering affected members the choice of accruing benefits in either the new career average pension scheme or in the final salary pension schemes that members were moved from for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 (the remedy period).

The two possible approaches listed by the government are:

1. an immediate choice
2. a deferred choice underpin (DCU)

 Under the immediate choice exercise, scheme members would make this decision in the year or two after the point of implementation in 2022. For many members, this will be years before retirement, and at a time when there is still some uncertainty over the precise benefits that would accrue in the alternative schemes. 

 In contrast, under DCU, this decision would be deferred until the point at which a member retires (or when they take their pension benefits). Until that deferred choice is made, all members would be deemed to have accrued benefits in the final salary scheme, rather than the newer scheme, for the remedy period. 

This is an important financial decision. Before you make a decision to opt out you should consult with an independent financial advisor.

You must consider what is affordable for your budget; however you should also bear in mind that public sector pension schemes tend to be far more generous than private sector schemes.

 Additionally, if you leave the pension scheme you will no longer have access to the ill-health benefits provided under the PPS. If you are a member of the PPS and you are forced to retire due to ill-health, you have access to an ill-health pension from the date of your retirement. If you are not a member and you are forcibly retired because you are disabled from doing the duties of an officer, you will not have access to this benefit. 

Yes. You should contact HR to obtain the necessary form.

 Be aware that you may need to be medically examined before a decision is made as to whether you will have access to the ill-health benefits element of the pension. Re-joiners may be excluded from access to ill-health benefits if they are deemed at a significantly increased risk of becoming permanently disabled from performing police duties.

 If you are excluded from the ill-health benefits element of the pension scheme, your pension contributions will be reduced.

You can appeal a decision to exclude you from the ill-health benefits element of the PPS.

 If this happens to you, we recommend that you contact your Police Federation representative urgently because you must obtain certain medical evidence before submitting your appeal, and the time limit to submit your appeal is very short.

Whilst you are on half-pay, half of your usual pension contributions will be deducted from your salary. The Force will continue to contribute the full amount to your pension pot.

When you are reduced to nil pay, your contributions to your pension will be zero. The Force will not contribute anything to your pension pot whilst you are on nil pay.

First, you should speak with your Police Federation representative, who will be able to explain the process and get the ball rolling.  

You should also discuss this with your GP and any specialists you may be seeing. They might have a view on what tasks they think are appropriate or safe for you to do, and they might recommend some adjustments to your role (whether temporary or permanent).

 The Force Medical Officer / Force Medical Advisor will consider your conditions and give views on what sort of adjustments, if any, should be made to your role.

 Finally, the Force should take all of the information outlined above into account when deciding on your role. It must be risk-assessed and the Force may need to make adjustments in order for the role to be appropriate in light of your condition(s).

You could seek an alternative or restricted role within the police which accommodates your condition(s). See FAQ 7 above.

 You could seek ill-health retirement from the Force. For more information, see the following FAQ