Pre-retirement seminar helps prepare member for life outside of Force

26 February 2024

A Derbyshire Police Federation member says a pre-retirement seminar organised by the branch ‘opened his eyes’ to managing his finances after finishing work.

Detective Inspector John Murphy said the session had given him a lot more confidence ahead of his retirement from the Force in October.

John, said: “I thought the day was brilliant.

“It opened up my eyes to a lot of things, and has given me plenty to think about in terms of investment and managing things.

“It’s given me a lot more confidence about retiring.”

John said that an example given during the seminar that he attended was one of things that improved his confidence.

“They talked about someone who was earning, say £51,500, and when they retire they will receive £25,000 a year,” he said.

“So straight away that person is thinking it’s half the money.

“But you don’t pay National Insurance on your pension, which I didn’t know. You’re not paying into your pension any more, you’re paying less tax.

“Also, you could use your lump sum to pay off a loan or your mortgage, so you won’t have as many outgoings.

“And they said not to rule out getting another job. So you could have your pension and another job with fewer demands and less stress and be clearing a similar amount of money.

“So it’s given me a lot to think about.”

John, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to his retirement but that he will miss friends and colleagues in the Force.

He said: “I have a lot of good memories. It's been stressful at times but on the whole it's been really good.

"I’ve worked with a lot of good people, and there will be a lot of people I will miss.

“I will be sad to go."

The pre-retirement sessions cover a number of key topics, including:

Managing your finances (fundamentals of financial planning)
Developing a financial plan including investment strategy and risk
Wills and estate planning with input from specialist solicitors
Preparing for retirement and non-financial planning considerations
Personal taxation (maximising tax-efficiency)
Understanding the Police Pension Schemes, the remedy and pension-related taxation matters - how and when to optimise your pension.

Further seminars will be held on:

Tuesday 5 March
Thursday 4 July
Wednesday 23 October

The sessions, which are hosted by Reflect Financial, run from 9am until 5.30pm and are intended primarily for members who are within two years of retirement, but members with 25 years or more service are also welcome to attend.

Refreshments and a buffet lunch will be provided at each seminar.

To register, please email branch secretary Kirsty Bunn.