This newsletter provides a general update on current pension issues and some practical tips to assist with your own pension position.

ABS/RSS Update

We are fast approaching the next annual ABS/RSS rollout in August and unfortunately not all members have received their RSSs which should have been provided by 31 March 2025.

PFEW have written to the Home Affairs Select Committee with our concerns and continue to raise issues with the NPCC and pension administrators. The main issues that we are coming across are:

• Failure to issue an RSS due to data problems, particularly for interforce transfers;
• Delays in remedying immediate choice members due to the unauthorised tax charges;
• Not providing ill health retirees with RSSs or any assistance in how to interpret what are complex documents for them;
• The same issue for beneficiaries as for ill health retirees. There are members of both cohorts that will be worse off whichever choice they make;
• Delays for those with Pension Sharing Orders due to lack of the necessary GAD guidance;
• Concerns around the accuracy of some of the RSSs.
• Regulatory extensions have been given without a clearly defined new deadline;
• Those that are not owed money are accruing interest on contribution adjustments that they cannot pay as they have not been provided with the amount that they owe.

PFEW's advice is to continue to pursue the internal dispute resolution procedure (IDRP) route and to complain to scheme managers.

On 19 June the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds MP, urged scheme managers to engage with those that await RSSs to get the issues resolved.

PFEW are disappointed with the level of engagement between scheme managers and members, particularly ill health retirees and beneficiaries.

 

Understanding your Remediable Service Statement (RSS)

The Remediable Service Statement received by an officer will depend on the purpose they are receiving it for.

The 2025 Annual Benefit Statement/RSS for all officers should be produced and published in August 2025.

As all officers subject to remedy have been rolled back into their legacy schemes for the remedy period, they will show the legacy scheme benefits and the alternative reformed scheme benefit position so that officers can keep up to date with how both pension positions are accruing.

The statements will be based on an assumption that officers will remain in service until 60. PFEW made the point that 55 will be of more interest to many officers but they are going to use 60.

The 55-exit point will have to be dealt with by requesting specific quotes from administrators or the NPCC calculator.

> Calculator - policepensioninfo.co.uk

The Met are apparently going to show the position at 55 too for this years ABS/RSS.

The contribution position for monies owed by members can be settled within 12 weeks of the ABS/RSS being issued and again the following August and so on – ultimately it can be paid off at retirement.

The second type of RSS is the one that an officer will receive when they come to retire, their options document. This is a very important document and the remedy has made it more complex.

The first decision that needs to be made is which pension option is going to be taken for the remedy period, the legacy scheme or the reformed scheme. In a lot of cases this will be a fairly straightforward decision as there will be an obvious financial difference.

Once that choice has been made then there are several choices available and not all of them are reflected in the RSS’ we have seen. The choices:

• Take no commutation from either pension.
• Take the maximum lump sum from both pensions and pay tax on the 1987 commutation if applicable – there is no tax implication on the 2006 and 2015 commutation.
• Take the maximum tax-free option for the 1987 pension and the maximum commutation from the 2015 pension.

The above three options are the ones that are reflected on the RSS’ we have seen but there is also the option to:

• Take commutation from the 1987 scheme and not the 2015 scheme.
• Take commutation from the 2006 scheme and not the 2015 scheme.
• There is also the ability to reverse that position and take commutation from the reformed scheme and not the legacy schemes.
• Take a commutation amount from the 1987 or 2006 scheme of your choice up to the maximum lump sum amount and take no commutation from the 2015, the maximum from the 2015 or a chosen amount from the 2015 scheme.

There is greater flexibility in the choices available than is reflected in the RSS’ and we will continue to lobby for this to change.

If you are some way from retirement the ABS/RSS production is an opportunity to ensure that your pension record is correct and to query any discrepancies so that things are correct at your ultimate retirement.

 

Compensation

Forces should have published their guidance for how members can claim compensation for losses and advice required as a result of the remedy. The guidance should explain how compensation can be applied for and the appeals process if the application is unsuccessful.

The NPCC have published a useful guide to compensation.

> NPCC-Member-Remedy-factsheet-Compensation.pdf

It is clear from some work conducted by PFEW that some forces have not publicised their process or the compensation available. There is no financial limit for reasonable claims and no time limit on when claims can be made.

From a practical point of view members may wish to get pre-authorisation from their Force before spending money on advice. Any issues in this area please speak with your local Branch Board in the first instance.

 

Contingent Decisions – buying back opted out service

There has been a pause on two of the three cohorts for buying back opted out service in the 1987 scheme.

The three cohorts are:

• Those that opted out on or before 31 March 2015 – can only be returned to the 2006 scheme;
• Those that opted out on or after 1 April 2015 and did not opt back into the scheme on or before 31 March 2022 – can be returned to the 1987 scheme;
• Those that opted out on or after 1 April 2015 but opted back in within the remedy period – opted out service can be the 1987 scheme, the period from opting back in to 31 March 2022 is the 2006 scheme.

There is nothing stopping the middle cohort being dealt with by forces now.

There has been a pause on dealing with the other two cohorts since last August as the Home Office look for a solution as the legislation is not in line with the policy intent of returning officers to the position they would have been but for remedy.

Discussions continue and the Home Office are approaching the policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, for decisions on a way forward. The staff associations have written to Dame Diana so that our concerns can be expressed before any decisions are made.

On a practical note, if you are a member who wants to buy back opted out service get your contingent decision in so that it is registered.

 

Contingent Decisions – the other three available

The window has closed or is closing for the other three contingent decisions available.

Honoraria, additional service and transfers needed to be in three months, twelve months and six months, respectively, after the receipt of the RSS. The NPCC guidance on all of the contingent decisions is in the link.

NPCC-Member-Remedy-Factsheet-Contingent-Decisions-v2.0.pdf

If you want to make an application then please get it in as soon as possible.

 

Contribution Increase Consultation

PFEW have not received the Home Office response to the consultation on increasing pension contributions. It is likely there will be a delay in us receiving this.

The Home Office have promised that there will be a three-month gap between them publishing their response and the implementation of the increase in contributions.

The Staff Associations response to the consultation was that the increase should be limited to a 0.22% increase across the board.

 

Divorce

The Government Actuary Department (GAD) guidance for prospective divorces, those since 1 October 2023, has been published.

The retrospective guidance for divorces settled during the remedy period (1/4/15 to 31/3/ 2022) is with administrators and should be available to PFEW by mid-July.

Divorce is an area where compensation can be claimed for additional costs that are incurred due to remedy and that framework should be used by affected officers.

 

DWP – Check Your State Pension

Police officers were contracted out of SERPs until April 2016. This means that they may not have a full National Insurance record for the state pension. It is well worth creating an account and checking your position so that you know the position well before you reach state pension age.

> Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK

 

Group Pension Claim

Please see the below update from Penningtons regarding the Group Pension Claim. If you do get correspondence from PFEW then please respond as soon as possible as we need to resolve the administrative issues that have been identified.

‘This is a brief update which follows on from the update provided in May 2025.  Please refer to that update for further information.

The Tribunal has listed a Preliminary Hearing (PH) on 25 September 2025. The purpose of the PH is to consider the issues raised by both parties and for the Tribunal to decide how the case should be managed. We will be instructing Counsel to appear on behalf of the Claimants for the PH.

We continue to deal with various administrative issues including, but not limited to the following:

• Claimants who wish to withdraw from the GPC.
• Organising claimants who appear in both the tapered and no-protection group of claims into the correct claim.
• Reducing claimants who appear multiple times in the claim to just one claim.

We have identified the claimants we need to liaise with in relation to (2) and (3) above.

If you have been contacted by us or PFEW on our behalf about these issues, please can you provide your response and instructions as quickly as possible. 

If you have not been contacted, it means that we do not need anything further from you at this stage. 

If there is anything further we require ahead of the PH, we will provide a further update and/or contact members as needed. 

We will in any case provide a further update as to the outcome of the hearing and the next steps.’

 

Parental Leave

PFEW are still working with the data that was obtained from the survey that was produced by Frankie Westoby and we are going to push for changes to the period that officers have to pay for unpaid parental leave.

Currently members have three months from their return from unpaid parental leave to inform the force that they would like to buy back the pension for the unpaid period.

We have also met with the NPCC to discuss some of the other common themes identified in the survey and there are further meetings planned to take what we can forward.

We would reiterate again that the production of the ABS/RSSs is an opportunity to ensure that your pension record is correct.

 

Partner Declarations

Cohabiting partners in the 2006 and 2015 schemes are eligible for a survivor pension from those schemes if the member they cohabit with dies. There are declaration forms available for both schemes, they are not a requirement but we would encourage their completion. The forms can be obtained from the pension administrators.

There are also nominations forms available for the death in service lump sum grant (three times average pensionable pay) if you are not married or in a civil partnership. Again, they are available from the pension administrators.

It is also a good idea for members who belong to the Group Insurance Scheme to check their nominated beneficiary, this can be done via their local Federation Office.

 

Webinars

PFEW held a pension webinar on 12 June and there is another one planned for 4 September. It is not live on the events page yet but will be here (Programme of Events | Police Federation Events) when it is open for registration.

 

Useful Links

PFEW Pension Website:

Pensions Update (polfed.org)

NPCC Website lots of useful information and guidance, including compensation guidance, the News section is also updated regularly:

Police Pension Info - policepensioninfo.co.uk

Have a look at the website and the newsletters and if there is anything else you would like covered, please e-mail us:

PensionEnquiries@polfed.org