Police ill-health retirement calculator
Compare lower and upper tier (2015 scheme), standard and enhanced (2006) or the 1987 ill-health pension, before and after tax. Tick a duty injury to see how the injury pension changes the picture.
- Updated 7 October 2026
- Shared engine, sourced rules
- Free, nothing stored
- Estimate, not advice
Police ill-health retirement estimate
From policepay.co.uk/calculators/police-ill-health-retirement-calculator/. An estimate from the regulations, not financial advice. Check your figures with your pension administrator.
Estimate2015 scheme only, 10 years' service, age 38, £52,015 pay
- Lower tier, a year
- £9,406
- £784 a month after tax
- Upper tier, a year
- £19,753
- £1,526 a month after tax
- Enhancement adds
- £10,347
- A year before tax; can stop on review
- If you resigned instead
- At 68
- When a deferred pension would start
Your details
All in the 2015 scheme: at most about 11.5 years by October 2026.
Basic pay plus any pensionable allowances. Top of the constable scale is £52,015 from 1 September 2026.
More options
Leave at 0 to estimate it as pay x years / 55.3. Your annual benefit statement figure is more accurate, because the 2015 scheme builds pension on each year's pay.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Lower tier and upper tier
Permanently unfit for police duties
About £9,406 after income tax (£784 a month)
Also permanently unfit for any regular employment
About £18,316 after income tax (£1,526 a month)
The upper tier adds £10,347 a year before tax (pay / 55.3 x half of the 22 years to 60).
Subject to review: The upper tier enhancement can be reviewed at intervals of at least 5 years until State Pension age. If you are found able to do regular employment (30 hours a week on average) the enhancement stops; the lower tier continues for life (2015 regulation 114).
Caused by an injury on duty? Tick the box in your details to see the injury pension and how three-quarters of the ill-health pension is taken off it.
If you resigned instead
Your pension would be deferred, not paid now. It would start at:
- 2015 scheme part: State Pension age (estimated 68), 30 years from now
Deferred pension ages: state pension age for 2015 scheme service, 65 for the 2006 scheme, 60 for the 1987 scheme. Ill-health retirement pays the lower tier now, with no reduction for early payment.
How this is worked out
- 2015 scheme: lower tier = accrued pension with no early payment reduction; upper tier adds final pay / 55.3 x half the years to 60, and with under 5 years' service the lesser of that and 3 x accrued pension (2015 regulations 102 to 104). Needs 2 years' qualifying service unless caused by a duty injury.
- Uses today's pay as final pay for every year. Your annual benefit statement and your scheme administrator's quote are the real figures.
- Income tax is England and Wales 2026/27, on the pension alone. Pension increases, part-time service, added pension and transfers are not included.
- The selected medical practitioner (SMP) answers the medical questions; the police pension authority decides whether to retire you and may instead keep you serving.
Your next step
Understand the process before the SMP
Who decides, the tests for each tier, reviews and appeals are explained in our ill-health retirement guide.
An estimate, not advice. It uses today's pay as final pay, and leaves out commutation, pensionable allowances, the McCloud remedy choice and state benefit deductions. It covers the England and Wales police schemes and taxes the pension at England and Wales rates (Scottish rates differ). Your pension administrator's figures are the ones that count. Talk to your Federation representative before decisions about retiring.
Tell me if the ill-health rules change
We will email you if the ill-health retirement or injury award rules change (for example the outcome of the regulation 36 consultation). Your figures are not stored or sent.
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How the figures are worked out
The rules behind the calculator. For the process, the SMP and appeals, read the full ill-health retirement guide.
What does police ill-health retirement pay?
In the 2015 scheme, the lower tier pays the pension you have built up straight away, with no early payment reduction. The upper tier, for people who cannot do any regular work, adds final pay divided by 55.3 for half the years left to age 60. An officer on £48,000 retiring at 40 with 10 years' 2015 service would get about £8,680 a year on the lower tier and £17,360 on the upper tier, before tax. Read the ill-health retirement guide for how the decision is made.
How the calculator works it out
- 2015 lower tier: pay x years / 55.3, paid now without reduction (regulation 104(2)). Needs 2 years' qualifying service unless the unfitness comes from a duty injury.
- 2015 upper tier: lower tier plus pay / 55.3 x (years from your age to 60) / 2. With under 5 years' service, the enhancement is the lesser of that and three times your accrued 2015 scheme pension (for a 2006 transition member, the 2015 and 2006 accrued pensions together, and the 5 years count 2006 service too) (regulation 104(4) to (6)).
- 2006 standard: pay x years / 70, unreduced, plus a lump sum of four times the pension. Enhanced adds half the years from your age to 55; with under 5 years, the lesser of 4 x service or service plus half the prospective years (regulations 30 and 31). From 55 the ordinary pension is paid instead.
- 1987: one ill-health pension in sixtieths of pay: 1/60 a year under 5 years; 2/60 a year from 5 to 10; over 10 years, 7/60 plus 1/60 a year up to 20 and 2/60 a year after 20, at least 20/60 and at most 40/60 (Schedule B Part III). Under 5 years without a duty injury pays a gratuity instead.
Worked example (realistic 2015 service): age 40, 10 years, £48,000. Lower tier £48,000 x 10 / 55.3 = £8,680. Enhancement £48,000 / 55.3 x 20 / 2 = £8,680. Upper tier £17,360 a year.
Tiers by scheme: the right words
| Scheme | Unfit for police duties only | Also unfit for any regular work | Deferred pension if you resign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Lower tier | Upper tier | State pension age |
| 2006 | Standard | Enhanced | 65 |
| 1987 | One ill-health pension (no tiers) | 60 | |
The tier depends on the SMP's answers. The police pension authority then decides whether to retire you and can require you to keep serving instead.
Injury awards and the three-quarters rule
If a duty injury caused your unfitness, you may also get an injury award: a one-off gratuity and an injury pension. The injury pension is the minimum income guarantee for your degree of disablement and service, less three-quarters of your police pension (Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3 paragraph 6).
So while the injury pension is above zero, total income is the guarantee plus a quarter of the police pension. Moving from lower to upper tier then raises total income by only a quarter of the increase, and because the ill-health pension is taxed but the injury pension is not, the after-tax gain can be nil or negative. Commuting part of your pension does not raise the injury pension, because a commuted pension is treated as not reduced.
The injury award calculator shows every band. The button in the results carries your figures across.
Tax
The ill-health pension is taxable. The calculator works out income tax at England and Wales 2026/27 rates on the pension alone, so if you have other income (your own earnings or another pension) your tax will be higher. If you live in Scotland, Scottish income tax rates apply and your after-tax figures will differ. No National Insurance is paid on pensions.
HMRC's manual (EIM75900) says injury benefit payments for police can be paid tax-free, so the injury pension is shown without tax. We say nothing definite about the tax on the injury gratuity: ask HMRC or your administrator.
What the calculator leaves out
- Mixed service. Since 1 April 2022 every serving officer builds 2015 scheme pension. The calculator adds the legacy ill-health element for 1987 and 2006 joiners, but not the McCloud remedy choice for 2015 to 2022 service, the 1987 weighted-accrual alternative, part-time service or transfers. Nobody has more than about 11.5 years of 2015 service yet.
- Final pay. Today's pay is used. The real figure uses your scheme's final or average pensionable pay, revalued pension and any pensionable allowances.
- Commutation and the 1987 cap. Lump sums from commuting are not shown, nor the 1987 cap at the pension you would have had at compulsory retirement age.
- State benefits. Reductions to the injury pension for industrial injuries benefit and similar are not modelled.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland. The calculator uses the England and Wales police pension regulations. Police Scotland and PSNI officers are in their own schemes, with some different rules.
- Regulation 36. The 2015 scheme can exclude ill-health benefits for some pre-existing conditions. The Home Secretary accepted in 2023 that this breached the Equality Act 2010; a consultation on removing it closed on 17 September 2026 and the outcome is not yet published.
What we could not verify
- The full amended text of the 1987 regulations online (legislation.gov.uk may not show every amendment).
- How each pension administrator applies the legacy ill-health element for transition members in practice, which needs case-specific figures.
- The tax treatment of the lump-sum injury gratuity.
Frequently asked questions
How is a police ill-health pension calculated?
In the 2015 scheme the lower tier is the pension you have built up, paid now with no reduction for early payment. The upper tier adds an enhancement of final pay divided by 55.3, times half the years from your retirement to age 60 (with a cap if you have under 5 years' service). The 2006 scheme pays your ordinary pension unreduced (standard) and, if you cannot do any regular work, adds half your prospective service to 55 (enhanced), with a lump sum of four times the pension. The 1987 scheme has one ill-health pension on its own scale.
What is the difference between lower tier and upper tier?
Lower tier: permanently unfit for the ordinary duties of a police officer, but not for any regular employment. Upper tier: also permanently unfit for any regular employment, meaning an average of at least 30 hours a week (Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulations 2 and 101).
Does the 1987 scheme have tiers?
No. The 1987 scheme has one ill-health pension. With under 5 years' service and no duty injury it pays a gratuity instead. The 2006 scheme calls its two levels standard and enhanced; lower and upper tier are 2015 scheme terms.
Is a police ill-health pension taxable?
Yes. The ill-health pension is taxable income. HMRC's Employment Income Manual (EIM75900) says payments from injury benefit schemes, such as a police injury pension, can be paid tax-free. The calculator taxes the ill-health pension and shows the injury pension tax-free.
Why does upper tier add so little if I also get an injury award?
The injury pension is the guaranteed minimum for your band and service less three-quarters of your police pension. While the injury pension is above zero, each extra pound of ill-health pension cuts it by 75p, so total income rises by only a quarter of the increase before tax. After tax the gain can be nil or negative.
Can an upper tier pension be reduced later?
Yes. A 2015 upper tier pension is reviewed at intervals of at least 5 years until state pension age. If you are found able to do regular employment, the enhancement stops 3 months after the report; the lower tier continues. Lower tier pensions can be reviewed until age 60.
What if I have service in both the 1987 or 2006 scheme and the 2015 scheme?
Most longer-serving officers do. Your award is then the 2015 scheme tier plus an ill-health element from your legacy scheme: the 2006 standard ill-health pension and lump sum, or the 1987 ill-health pension worked out on the date your 1987 service ended. Enter your legacy and 2015 years separately and the calculator adds them up. The McCloud remedy can move 2015 to 2022 service back to the legacy scheme; you can model that by moving those years between the boxes, but your administrator's figure is the one that counts.
Who decides whether I am ill-health retired?
A selected medical practitioner (SMP) decides the medical questions. If the SMP finds you permanently unfit for police duties, the police pension authority decides whether to retire you, and it can require you to keep serving instead (2015 regulation 82).
Sources
Read on 7 October 2026. Where something could not be confirmed from an official source, the page says so. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445), regulations 101 to 115 (legislation.gov.uk) : tiers, qualifying service, the enhancement, reviews (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 104 (as made) : upper tier enhancement: final pay / 55.3 x assumed period / 2; short-service cap (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3415), regulations 29 to 31 and 51 : standard and enhanced ill-health pensions and lump sum; reviews (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/257), regulation B3 and Schedule B Part III : one ill-health pension and its scale; the online text may not include every amendment (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3 : injury pension = guarantee less three-quarters of the police pension (para 6) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- HMRC Employment Income Manual, EIM75900 : injury benefit payments can be paid tax-free (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: state pension age : when a deferred 2015 scheme pension would start (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Police Pension Scheme 2015: Regulation 36 (consultation, 20 August 2026) : removal of the 2015 scheme ill-health exclusion; outcome not yet published (accessed 7 October 2026)