Police Pension Explained: PPS 2015, Contributions and Benefits
Serving officers build their pension in the PPS 2015 career average scheme. You contribute 12.88% to 14.22% of pensionable pay, your force adds 35.3%, and you build 1/55.3 of pay each year. Here is how the whole thing works.
What pension scheme are police officers in?
Serving officers build pension in the Police Pension Scheme 2015 (PPS 2015), a career average revalued earnings, or CARE, scheme. The two older schemes, PPS 1987 and NPPS 2006, are closed to new accrual, though many officers still hold benefits in them.
A CARE scheme bases your pension on your pay across your whole career, not just your salary at the end. Each year you build a slice of pension, and those slices are revalued every year until you retire.
How much do you pay into the police pension?
Your contribution depends on your pensionable pay, which is your basic pay plus London Weighting. The tiers are:
| Pensionable pay | Your contribution |
|---|---|
| Up to £37,035 | 12.88% |
| £37,036 to £79,588 | 13.88% |
| £79,589 and above | 14.22% |
That is only part of the money going in. Your force contributes 35.3% of your pensionable pay on top, and your own contribution receives income tax relief because it is taken before tax. This is why opting out of the police pension rarely makes financial sense. See the real effect on your pay with the take-home calculator.
How does the PPS 2015 pension build?
Each year you add 1/55.3 of your pensionable pay to your pension pot. On £40,000 that is about £723 of annual pension for that single year.
While you are serving, the pension you have already built is increased each year by the Consumer Prices Index plus 1.25%. This in-service revaluation keeps your earlier years from losing value. Over a full career the slices add up to a substantial annual pension, which you can project with the police pension calculator.
When can you take your police pension?
The normal pension age in the PPS 2015 scheme is 60. If you retire at 60 you receive your pension in full.
You can take it earlier, from age 55, but it is actuarially reduced because it will be paid for longer. You can also work beyond 60, which increases the pension. This is different from the older schemes, where the rules on age and service were more generous.
Can you take a tax-free lump sum?
Yes. At retirement you can exchange part of your annual pension for a tax-free lump sum, a process called commutation. In the 2015 scheme the standard rate is £12 of lump sum for every £1 of annual pension you give up, up to the limit set by HMRC rules.
Whether to take the maximum lump sum or keep a higher annual income is a personal decision that depends on your circumstances. It is worth taking regulated advice before you commit.
What about the 1987 and 2006 schemes?
The PPS 1987 scheme is a final salary scheme with double accrual. Officers built 1/60 of final pay for the first 20 years and 2/60 for years 21 to 30, reaching a maximum of two-thirds of final salary after 30 years. It allowed an immediate pension after 30 years' service at any age.
The NPPS 2006 scheme used 1/70 accrual with a normal pension age of 55. Both are now closed to future build-up, but preserved benefits in them still count towards your retirement.
What is the McCloud remedy?
The McCloud remedy corrected age discrimination in how officers were moved to the 2015 scheme. For the remedy period of 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, eligible members were returned to their legacy scheme, and at retirement they make a deferred choice between legacy and 2015 benefits for that period.
In practice your pension provider will show both options when you retire, and you choose the one that pays more. You do not need to do anything now beyond keeping your records. For official detail, your force pensions team or the Police Federation can help.
Is the police pension worth it?
For almost every officer, yes. The combination of your own contribution, a 35.3% employer contribution and tax relief makes it one of the most valuable parts of the whole pay package. It pays a guaranteed, inflation-protected income for life, which is very hard to replicate privately.
We cover the case in full in our guide to opting out of the police pension, but the short version is that the money your force puts in, and the guarantees you get, almost always outweigh the extra take-home from leaving the scheme.
What happens to your pension if you leave the police?
If you leave before retirement, the pension you have built is not lost. It becomes a deferred benefit, preserved and revalued until you reach the age at which you can draw it.
In some cases you can transfer the value to another scheme, though transferring out of a defined benefit scheme is a major decision and usually requires regulated financial advice. For most leavers, the simplest option is to leave the pension where it is and draw it at the normal age.
Can you increase your police pension?
Yes. You can boost your retirement income by buying added pension in the scheme, or by paying into a separate additional voluntary contribution arrangement. Both let you put more aside in a tax-efficient way, on top of your standard contributions.
There is an annual allowance that limits how much pension growth is tax-free each year, which mainly affects higher earners and those buying large amounts of added pension. Whether paying in more is right for you depends on your age, your other savings and how close you are to retirement. The pension calculator gives a baseline projection to start from.
How does the police pension compare to other public schemes?
The police scheme is one of the more generous public service pensions, reflecting the demands of the role. Its 1/55.3 accrual is faster than the NHS and teachers' schemes, and its revaluation of CPI plus 1.25% while you serve is strong.
The trade-off is a higher member contribution than some schemes and a normal pension age of 60. Taken as a whole, it remains a valuable, secure benefit that forms a large part of the long-term reward of policing.