Police pensions – background

The Police Pension Scheme is a public service pension scheme, providing pensions based on final salary. Like most of the other main public service schemes, it operates on a pay-as-you-go basis. Most serving officers are members of the Police Pension Scheme (PPS) 1987 (closed to new entrants from April 2006). Under the PPS, a maximum pension of two-thirds of final salary is accrued after 30 years’ service, or at 50 with 25 years’ service. Concerns about costs led to a lengthy period of consultation on the future of the scheme. In 2003, the Labour Government published proposals for a New Police Pension Scheme (NPPS). Under the NPPS, introduced in April 2006, a maximum pension of half of final salary (plus a fixed lump sum of four times the annual pension) is accrued after 35 years.

This note concentrates on the development of current police pension schemes. The reforms to be introduced from April 2015 are discussed in Library Note SN 6965 Police pensions – current reforms.