Police Pensions and Age Of Entitlement?

maverick777

Dear All,

I served in HM Forces for nearly 10 years, allowing 6 years to be transferred to the Police Service. I left the police at the age of 43 with a total of 21 years pensionable service. Had I stayed in the Police I could have retired at the age of 52. I have been told that the earliest I will be entitled to my pension is at the age of 60.

Is 60 the earliest I can receive my entitlement? Are their any other options open to me please?

Kind Regards

:A

dunstonh

It is up to the trustees of the pension scheme if they allow you to take earlier retirement than that allowed by the scheme. You often find them willing to listen if it is upto 5 years before the scheme retirement date although they will penalise you for doing it.

Why did you transfer your forces pension into the police service? Without any facts, I would have assumed the HM Forces pension to have been the better one.

jackiegibbo

try the police federation website that should have the info you need;)

Ian_W

The police pension scheme [and some others, probably the armed services, fire service, but I'm not certain on those] doesn't have trustees or rules as such. It's a statutory scheme and the "rules" are in statutory instrument Regulations [secondary laws] which are laid before Parliament and any dispute about the application of those "rules" can be taken to court.
Deferred pensions were always available from age 60 under the 1987 scheme and this is what the HOME OFFICE website says:

Deferred Pension
If you build up pension rights in the scheme but leave the police service (or opt out of the scheme) before retirement, you will be eligible for a 'deferred pension' payable at age 60. You are entitled to a deferred pension if you have at two years to count towards qualifying service, and you either:

• leave the police, or
• cease to be a member of PPS by opting out of it,

without transferring your PPS rights to another pension scheme.
A deferred pension is payable from age 60. It may be paid earlier if you become permanently disabled from performing the ordinary duties of a police officer.
If you leave before the age of 50 with at least 25 years service, then your deferred pension will be paid from age 50.

Like other public services a 2006 scheme was introduced but members of the previous scheme retained the benefits of the earlier one unless they opted to join the new scheme. I think there were some changes made to comply with the overall spirit of the A day reforms to other pensions but it doesn't appear that deferred pension age was one of them but I do suggest you contact the branch of the POLICE FEDERATION for the force you served in. This may be particularly helpful if you're suffering ill health.
If there is no illness and no change being made to the Regs, then there can be no challenge as I see it - the Police Authority is legally obliged to comply with the Regulations.

I honestly don't know why I transferred HM forces pension.

Probably to provide better benefits whilst you were serving [ill health, injury, widows pensions etc] and had you carried on to retire with an immediate pension. Deferred benefits is probably one of a few areas where you'd have been better not transferring IMHO, although having just joined I'm sure you weren't thinking you'd leave prematurely.
Sorry it's not overly optimistic but you should have been told your pension age would be 60 when you decided to leave and you could have changed your mind about leaving then. Now I don't think there's anything you can do except wait - unless there is a documented illness issue serious enough to persuade the force to pay the pension earlier than 60.

maverick777

Contacted the Fedreation they were unable to give me an answer, so they told me to contact Xafinity, who inturn did not know.

Ian_W

maverick,
I've done a bit more rooting about on the web - and it's only my opinion - but from the HO website and the Regs themselves the only time a deferred pension can be paid before age 60 is where the retired person can substantiate they are - permanently disabled from performing the ordinary duties of a police officer - prior to age 60.
There is no discretion for a police authority to pay early in any other circs as far as I can see in the Police Pension Regs 1987. Reg B5 (4) puts it in the following terms:

A deferred pension under paragraph (2) or (3) shall be calculated in accordance with ...blah, blah; but no payment shall be made on account of the pension—
(a) in respect of the period before the regular policeman attains the age of 60 years or, if he sooner becomes permanently disabled, before he becomes so disabled....

All very sexist language by to-day's standards and there have been changes like the deferred pension being available after 2 yrs rather 5yrs in the original Regs but I think it's very unlikely on grounds of cost to public funds that the age 60 restriction has or will be changed.

Personally I think you're flogging a dead horse - but as it's your horse to flog - the only way I can think for you to get a definitive answer is to:
A] Write to the Pol Fed asking them to get legal advice on your entitlements - they usually represent former members on issues relating to their police service.
OR
B] formally write to the Police Authority asking them to pay it early.
My bet is that the reply will be that Reg B5(4) doesn't allow early payment except on health grounds.

HTH.

arnie&caseysma!

maverick777 wrote: »

Dear All,

I served in HM Forces for nearly 10 years, allowing 6 years to be transferred to the Police Service. I left the police at the age of 43 with a total of 21 years pensionable service. Had I stayed in the Police I could have retired at the age of 52. I have been told that the earliest I will be entitled to my pension is at the age of 60.

Is 60 the earliest I can receive my entitlement? Are their any other options open to me please?

Kind Regards

:A

I am confused by the above. The old Police Pension Scheme was for 30 years pensionable service (the new one is 35 years). You left at 43 after 21 years, does this include the 6 years buy in? If so it makes a lot more sense to me (you joined the Police service at 28??).

I notice in another post you say you don't know why you transferred your pension? Many people who have served in the armed forces and then joined the Police do transfer the pension or "buy in" as that way they serve less years having bought some service and can still retire early, meaning you would have retired at 52 years of age, with a nice lump sum and a pension every month, instead of serving the full 30 years and receiving it then.

maverick777

Hi,

Yes I joined at about 28 and bought in 2 thirds of my HM service into the police, in total pensionable service is about 21 years. It would seem from previous threads that I won't get my pension till I'm 60....but that could be if I roll over and accept. I can see that no one wants to pay money out if they can help it.

Cheers

Andy_L

dunstonh wrote: »

Why did you transfer your forces pension into the police service? Without any facts, I would have assumed the HM Forces pension to have been the better one.

and what does "assume" make? :-)

The mill pensions very good if you get you full 22(ish) years in, ~1/3 salary & 3x lump sum paid (old DB but not FS scheme) or 1/70ths & 3x lump sum (new scheme), both paid immediatly. Otherwise it's just defered to 60/65 (old/new scheme).
Still good but since it would have been a public sector transfer club move into the police I'd be hard pushed to think of a good reason to not move it.