Pension Update - National Federation
1 July 2019
Engaging with the Government around the police pension schemes is one of our most important areas of work because a police pension has always been regarded as a key element of the remuneration of our members.
Latest update
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Government’s changes to pensions with regard to judges and firefighters were discriminatory on the grounds of age. In light of the findings, the Government has suspended action to rectify the public service cost cap breach.
We are undertaking a thorough review of our position to better understand what this means for members and how best to represent them moving forward.
What are the police pension schemes?
Police pensions have undergone a number of reforms since their introduction in the 19th century, the most recent of which was in 2015, when The Police Pension Scheme 2015 was brought in. Details of how the 2015 scheme works can be found in our FAQ document issued in March 2015.
Currently our members are in one of three schemes – the Police Pension Scheme 1987 (1987 Scheme) which was available for members who joined before 6 April 2006, the New Police Pension Scheme 2006 (2006 Scheme) for those who joined between 6 April 2006 and 31 March 2015 or the 2015 Scheme.
The 2015 Scheme came into effect on 1 April 2015. This is a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme, and brought about one of the biggest changes to police pensions in history. The introduction of the 2015 Scheme implemented the government’s policy of moving public service pensions to CARE arrangements and away from final salary schemes like the 1987 and 2006 schemes. Primary legislation was used to avoid a “no worsening” provision contained the Police Pensions Act 1976.
What did PFEW do when the 2015 CARE Scheme was announced?
We had no right to negotiate over the introduction of the 2015 Scheme, so instead engaged in consultation. We have produced a timeline outlining that process. You can also read more about what we have done.
Our view was that the 2015 Scheme should only apply to new recruits. This was rejected, but we supported the use of transitional arrangements - as did the trade unions involved with other public service workers - to improve the position for as many of our members as we could. We obtained legal advice throughout the process.
More than 49,000 of our members at the time of the introduction of the 2015 Scheme on 1 April 2015 received full protection and remain in their original scheme, while a further 18,000 have tapered protection, which means that they have gradually been moved over or will be in the future from the 1987 or 2006 scheme to the 2015 scheme. Pension accrued in the 1987 or 2006 schemes before being moved over to the 2015 scheme are protected.
Why have PFEW not legally challenged the pension changes?
When the new pension scheme was introduced, a group of officers decided to put in their own legal challenge to the transitional arrangements. The Federation’s legal advice strongly advised that a challenge was unlikely to be successful and we also believe that the transitional arrangements are a good thing.
More information and FAQs on our legal position regarding the 2015 Scheme are available on the National Police Federation Website
https://www.polfed.org/our-work/pensions/
Police pensions remain a priority for the Federation and we are committed to ensuring the best provision for our members.
