Police Pension Opt Out to Opt back in?

Happychappy

If your from the provinces why not make the break now and transfer back North, we have three north midland forces recruiting at the moment and each one taking on transferees as they are much cheaper to employ...no training, just a few local procedures and to de-met them I.e no more "Honest Guv, he fell down the stairs......twice"

Doing the transfer now and staying in the scheme as the experienced posters have already advised you, is really good advice, I paid in the scheme for 32 years at 11% so do understand the the issue you are looking at, however, to opt out may seem a good idea now, but you need to look at when your old and grey, which soon comes around ; )

jamesd

bigadaj, depends on the girlfriend and how far less than ideal the conditions are.

yangptangkipperbang

jem16 wrote: »

I think the main difference is that you have not thought about the value of the employer's contribution and how good a defined benefit pension really is.

.......as the taxpayer is paying his VERY attractive police pension, let him leave - less for the rest of us to pay in years to come !

ohwhattodo81

i phoned the pension chaps seeing as everyone is in the dark just now about what they will be getting back at the end of it all......hopefully many years from now.

I only have 7 years service in police service of scotland. What I know.....I was slightly too late to join the super duper 30yr scheme which I think closed in 2005 or 2006. I accepted this because the new scheme I joined was still amazing, I paid in slightly less contributions than the other guys and I have to work 35years but that was fine- my choice to join when I did. NOW apparently because officers are living longer and we can't afford to continue to fund this type of pension it's going to change to a new 2015 scheme. All my contributions in the old scheme are fine and go towards my final pension I receive. However now I pay in extra to my pension without having any say in it. Again I accept this because people are generally healthier and more active and likely to live a little longer now, and when I retire. If I was being told I need to pay an extra £100 per month now because they will be paying me the same super lump sum and monthly instalment then i'd accept that again. That would be fair.

What our federation tells us is that they don't know what we will get back. We get sent a calculator that no one really knows for certain how to use accurately.

I phoned the police pension folk yesterday (6th jan 2015) and asked them the simple question of roughly what my lump sum will be and a rough monthly income when I retire if I continue as normal. She was very vague and explained she couldn't answer that until all the i's were dotted and t's crossed in the up-coming proposal by the government. So I asked when that would be...she said she didn't know.

Even if you don't listen to the rumours you have to be a little concerned. What's fair is that they drew a line last year during 2014 sometime and all new recruits joining after would enter into this new proposed pension (like they did with the one before I joined) and left the rest of us alone with our terms and conditions. But they can't do that because they deficits and targets to hit so simply put they are financially shafting the majority of police officers (I don't know how fire service etc are effected sorry only police. Mention opting out and all you get hit with is 'oh don't do that, crazy idea'. I've read some very decent advice from guys stating why you should remain in it.

Trouble is, they've changed it now because they managed to get a piece of legislation invented and passed through Brussels and I think it will change again years down the line when they need to save more money, certainly before I retire.

If someone likes me opts out and puts 350quid per month in a savings account for 30years I accrue £126000. Seems a lot however if I live off that at 1000per month it will only last me a little over 12 years then it's gone. I only have a state pension (and my wife's pension to live off). However if I opt out, and plan so that upon retiral I have 2flats to sell outright, there's my £100k minimum lump sum, and I have another 3 bringing in at least 1200 per mnth between them I argue that is possible to explore that avenue.

Everyone has different scenarios so you can only do what suits you. We can't stop them changing anything and that's the frustrating part, but to contribute more per month for your entire working career to receive a fraction of the lump sum your 'close to retiring colleague' is getting and less per month upon retiring is not right. What to do.......:(

hyubh

I phoned the police pension folk yesterday (6th jan 2015) and asked them the simple question of roughly what my lump sum will be and a rough monthly income when I retire if I continue as normal. She was very vague and explained she couldn't answer that until all the i's were dotted and t's crossed in the up-coming proposal by the government. So I asked when that would be...she said she didn't know.

It's not the administrator or the force that determines the rules - it's the government. If the administrator gave figures which with hindsight proved inaccurate, they would be subject to lots of complaints later on however well intentioned the original estimates were.

Even if you don't listen to the rumours you have to be a little concerned.

Why listen to rumours? Just read the technical parts of the government's webpage on the topic, which has been up for a while (ignore the waffle at the start):

https://www.gov.uk/police-pension-reform

What's fair is that they drew a line last year during 2014 sometime and all new recruits joining after would enter into this new proposed pension (like they did with the one before I joined) and left the rest of us alone with our terms and conditions.

How would that be fair on newer recruits working side by side with colleagues who just happened to join a bit earlier? As you say yourself: "to contribute more per month for your entire working career to receive a fraction of the lump sum your 'close to retiring colleague' is getting and less per month upon retiring is not right"

But they can't do that because they deficits

There are no deficits because the police schemes are unfunded. At the end of each financial year if the contributions coming in haven't paid for the pensions paid out, the government comes along and just pays the difference from general taxation. This happens frequently for the 1987 scheme, even with its very high nominal employer contribution rate.

simply put they are financially shafting the majority of police officers

Funny short of 'shafting', this eligibility for membership of a pension scheme far better than most are eligible for...

Trouble is, they've changed it now because they managed to get a piece of legislation invented and passed through Brussels

The EU has nothing to do with it.

However if I opt out, and plan so that upon retiral I have 2flats to sell outright, there's my £100k minimum lump sum, and I have another 3 bringing in at least 1200 per mnth between them I argue that is possible to explore that avenue.

Insane!

to contribute more per month for your entire working career to receive a fraction of the lump sum your 'close to retiring colleague'

Er, of the two current police schemes it's your own that has a standard lump sum - an officer in the 1987 scheme has to commute pension, albeit at a nice rate compared to the public sector norm.

What to do.......:(

Quit and get a job with (say) a security firm in the private sector...?

xylophone

I am a 31 year old constable

Any chance of promotion?

You would like to transfer to the north - is there any kind of list kept by other forces of would be transferees? If so, are you on it/them?

Stick with your pension, particularly if you plan marriage and children.