Police Career Break Calculator
What an unpaid career break really costs a police officer: the take-home pay you go without, how much later your increments come, the pension you do not build, and whether coming back could trigger a pension tax charge. England and Wales, 2026/27 rates.
- Free, nothing stored
- England and Wales officers
- Sources checked 14 October 2026
Your estimate
- Gross pay forgone
- £37,697
- over 1 year
- After tax, NI and pension
- £24,263
- what you actually go without
- 2015 pension not built
- £1,206
- a year at retirement, today's money
- Next increment
- May 2028
- was May 2027
Your details
Pay you go without
No pay is due during a career break (Annex OO para 10 switches off the pay, leave and allowances rules). Because your pay stops, you also stop paying income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions on it, so the real loss is the take-home pay.
| Tax year | Months off | Gross forgone | Tax saved | NI saved | Pension contributions saved | Take-home forgone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 5 | £15,140 | £2,638 | £792 | £1,950 | £9,760 |
| 2027/28 | 7 | £22,557 | £3,930 | £1,218 | £2,905 | £14,504 |
A break that covers part of a tax year leaves the rest of the year's pay with your full personal allowance, so less tax is due that year. PAYE usually refunds it through your payslips when you return; if not, ask HMRC.
Your increments
Time on a career break does not count towards pay increments, so every increment still to come moves back by the length of the break. Your rank and pay point are kept.
- Next increment
- May 2028
- instead of May 2027
- Top of the scale
- May 2030
- instead of May 2029
After you return you are paid less than you would have been until you reach the top: about £14,318 gross at today's pay rates, on top of the pay forgone during the break. That also costs about £326 a year of 2015 pension at retirement.
Police Regulations 2003, regulation 24(3)(d): when your service in a rank is counted for pay, "any period of unpaid leave shall be disregarded". Assumes one increment a year and that you meet the pay progression standard. Ask HR to confirm the date they will use.
Your pension
- 2015 pension not built during the break
- £682 a year
- pay forgone ÷ 55.3, worth £880 a year at retirement after revaluation (today's money)
- Including the increment delay
- £1,206 a year
- at retirement, for life, in today's money
- The 2015 scheme builds 1/55.3 of the pensionable pay you actually receive each year. No pay, no pension for that time. Each year's slice is revalued by CPI plus 1.25% while you serve, which is why the figure at retirement is higher.
- You cannot buy back a career break. The 2015 scheme's option to pay contributions for unpaid leave (regulation 172) covers unpaid maternity, adoption, parental, support and sick leave only. You can ask your administrator for an added pension quote under Schedule 3, which is a general purchase, not a buy-back; we do not price it here.
See the effect on your whole pension in the police pension calculator. The estimate is free; the full report is paid.
Open the pension calculatorAnnual allowance when you return
Low on these figures
Indicator for 2027/28, the tax year you return (5 months back at work): about £5,845 of pension growth against the £60,000 allowance, valuing your pension as HMRC does (16 times the pension, opening value raised by CPI), with your pension last based on £36,335 and your pay on return £38,040.
An indicator, not a pension savings statement. It ignores carry forward, other pensions and any pension you buy back (which also counts as growth in the year you buy it). Your administrator's statement is what counts. How the annual allowance works for police.
Take these figures to HR, payroll or your Federation representative.
Pay and pension changes, by email
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This is an estimate, not financial or pension advice. It uses 2026/27 tax, NI and contribution rates and today's pay scales for every year, so pay awards are left out. Everything is worked out in your browser; nothing you enter is sent or stored.
How it works and where the numbers come from
Pay forgone, gross and take-home
For each month of the break the calculator takes the pay you would have had, including any increment that would have fallen during the break, at your weekly hours. It then works out each tax year twice, with and without the break, using 2026/27 income tax bands, National Insurance per monthly pay period and the 2015 scheme contribution rate for your pay (12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22%). The difference is the take-home pay you go without.
Increments
Your rank and pay point are protected, but the time out does not count for increments. The calculator moves every remaining increment back by the length of the break and adds up the pay difference until you reach the top of your scale (or retire, if sooner). It assumes one increment a year and that you meet the pay progression standard. Pay awards are left out, so figures are at today's pay rates.
Pension
The 2015 scheme builds 1/55.3 of the pensionable pay you receive in each scheme year (Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 58), revalued while you serve by CPI plus 1.25%. The calculator shows the pension not built for the break, and for the lower pay after it, at retirement in today's money. For 1987 members it shows how far the 25 and 30-year service dates move. It does not price buying the time back: the force policies we read say you cannot.
The annual allowance check
West Yorkshire Police's policy says benefits during the break are valued on the pay at the start of the break, and on return on the returning pay, so officers may face annual allowance charges on return. The calculator follows that: it values your pension at the start of your first tax year back on your pay before the break, and at the end on your pay after it, using HMRC's method (16 times the pension, opening value raised by CPI) from our annual allowance engine. Pay awards made during the break are what usually push your pay up; enter the award you expect. It is an indicator only and leaves out carry forward and other pensions.
What we could not verify
- How each pension administrator values a career break year for the annual allowance. Only West Yorkshire Police describes it.
- The exact incremental date your force will set on return. Force policies say the time does not count; the date is set by your HR team.
- The text of Home Office Circulars 4/2001 and 33/2003. We relied on the Police Federation's and a Pensions Ombudsman decision's quotes of them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get paid on a police career break?
No. Annex OO to the Police Regulations 2003 keeps you a member of your force during the break, but switches off the pay, leave and allowances rules for that time (paragraph 10). Your rank and pay point are kept.
Does a career break affect my pay increments?
Yes. The time out does not count towards pay increments, so your next increment, and each one after it, comes later by the length of the break. In our example a constable on pay point 4 taking 12 months off loses about £37,697 of gross pay during the break and about £14,318 more afterwards, because each increment arrives a year late.
Does a career break count for my police pension?
No. The break is not pensionable service. In the 2015 scheme you build no pension for that time, because pension is 1/55.3 of the pensionable pay you receive. In the 1987 scheme the dates you reach 25 and 30 years' service move back by the length of the break. Force policies we read say you cannot buy the time back.
Can a career break cause an annual allowance tax charge?
It can, mainly for officers with 1987 or 2006 scheme service. West Yorkshire Police's policy says benefits during the break are valued on the pay at the start of the break, and on return on the returning pay, which has often gone up, so officers may face annual allowance charges on return. The calculator gives an indicator; your administrator's pension savings statement is what counts.
Is the take-home figure what I actually lose?
Near enough. During the break you pay no income tax, National Insurance or pension contributions on the pay you do not get, so the loss is your take-home pay. A break that covers part of a tax year also leaves the rest of that year's pay with your full personal allowance, so a little less tax is due.
Does this work for part-time officers?
Yes. Enter your weekly hours. Part-time pay, and so the pay and pension forgone, is pro rata. Annex OO says you return on the same hours and work pattern as before, so changing hours needs a separate flexible working request.
Is this calculator right for Police Scotland or the PSNI?
No. It uses the England and Wales pay scales and pension rules. Police Scotland has its own career breaks procedure (up to five years in total, unpaid, not pensionable for officers) and its own pay scales. We have not covered the PSNI.
Is anything I enter stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or saved.
Related
- Career breaks explained The national rules, force policies compared, pension, vetting and second jobs.
- Police pension calculator Your whole pension, with the McCloud remedy and lump sum.
- Annual allowance 2026 The pension tax limit, worked examples and carry forward.
- Part-time pay calculator If fewer hours would do instead of a break.
Main sources (checked 14 October 2026)
- Annex OO: career breaks (Home Office Circular 003/2019)
- West Yorkshire Police, career break scheme for police officers
- Police Federation (Warwickshire), career break scheme
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 58
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM053301
PolicePay.co.uk is independent and not affiliated with any force, the Home Office or the Police Federation. This is an estimate, not financial, tax or pension advice. Check your force's career break policy and ask your pension administrator before you apply.