Police Pension
Divorce Calculator
Estimate the police pension built up so far, the part built up during the marriage, the pension debit a share would take from the officer and the credit rules for the ex-partner, for the 1987, 2006 and 2015 schemes. For officers and for their partners.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 19 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Whatever percentage is agreed or ordered. In England and Wales a pension sharing order takes that percentage of the value of the pension built up to the day the order takes effect; later service is not shared. The officer's pension is cut by a debit that then rises with CPI, and the ex-partner gets a separate police pension paid at 60, 65 or State Pension age, which cannot be transferred out.
Police pension divorce calculator
Enter your dates and pay. The calculator values the pension built up to today in each scheme, shows how much of it was built up between the marriage and separation, and shows what a share would take from the officer and what the officer would keep. Switch the role to see the same figures from the partner's side.
Figures are yearly pension in today's money, on the assumptions explained below. The scheme administrator's cash equivalent (CETV) and the court order are what count. The enquiry form under the calculator sends your enquiry to PolicePay (Andrew Thomas); it does not book a free call or give legal advice.
How the calculator works
A pension sharing order does not share the pension you will retire on. It shares the pension you have built up by the day the order takes effect. Section 29 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 says an active member's benefits are valued as if their pensionable service had ended immediately before that day. So the calculator asks the same question: what pension has your service so far earned?
- Service by scheme. From your joining date it splits your service into the 1987 or 2006 scheme (before 1 April 2015) and the 2015 scheme (from 1 April 2015).
- 1987 and 2006 service is valued on your pensionable pay today, using the scheme's own accrual (1987: 1/60 a year for the first 20 years and 2/60 a year after that, capped at 30 years; 2006: 1/70 a year, capped at 35 years).
- 2015 service is valued at the career average accrual rate of 1/55.3 of pensionable pay a year, revalued by CPI plus 1.25% while you are serving, as the Home Office describes the scheme. The calculator uses your current pay for each year, so it slightly overstates years when your pay was lower.
- The marriage part is the proportion of your membership that falls between the marriage date and the separation date, worked out on time.
- The share is the percentage you choose, applied to the whole pension built up so far, because that is how an English or Welsh order works. The Scotland setting applies it to the marriage part instead.
Everything is in today's money, so you can compare it with your payslip. Nothing is projected forward to retirement, because nothing built after the order is shared.
The paid Police Divorce Pension Report (£49.99) adds the full breakdown by scheme, the effect on your lump sum, when each pension is paid to each of you, an offsetting comparison and a PDF to take to a solicitor. The Police Divorce Pack (£59.99) adds the Separation Money Plan and the Pension Command Centre. You can see your own figures before you pay.
What each figure means
The calculator shows five figures. Each answers one question, and each is easy to misread, so here is what each one is and is not.
| Figure in the calculator | What it means | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Pension built up so far | The yearly pension your service to date has earned, in today's money, split by scheme. It is the base a pension sharing order works on, because the law values the pension as if you had left the day before the order takes effect | Not your pension at retirement. Service after the order is never shared |
| Part built up during the marriage | The share of that pension earned between the marriage (or the start of living together, if you tell it) and separation, on a time basis | Not what an English or Welsh order divides: there, the order is a percentage of the whole pension's value. In Scotland it is the starting point |
| Debit for the chosen share | The yearly pension taken off the officer's benefits by the percentage you pick, at today's value | Not fixed in cash for ever: it rises with CPI and is adjusted for when the officer retires |
| What the officer keeps | Pension built up so far less the debit | Not the officer's final pension: future service adds to it, and the debit keeps rising with CPI |
| Ex-partner's credit | The rules for the separate pension the ex-partner gets: when it is paid, the lump sum, transfer and death rules for each scheme | Not the same amount as the debit. The credit is worked out by the scheme from the cash value transferred, using the ex-partner's own age |
Why yearly pension and not a cash value? Because the cash value of a police pension depends on actuarial factors the scheme applies, and those changed in May 2026. A yearly pension is a figure an officer can check against a benefit statement, and a partner can compare with what they would need in retirement. The debit the scheme applies is itself a yearly pension amount, worked out from the cash value.
Why the credit is not the same as the debit. The scheme converts the percentage of the cash value into a pension for the ex-partner using the ex-partner's age and the scheme's credit factors. Someone younger than the officer, or whose credit is paid at a later age, will usually get a different yearly amount from the debit. This is why a 50% share of value rarely gives equal incomes, and why the paid report and pension on divorce experts work in incomes.
Worked illustrations
These are illustrations, not real cases. Every figure is computed by the same engine the site uses for its divorce examples, on these assumptions: the pension built up so far only; today's money; 2015 scheme years valued at 1/55.3 of today's pay and revalued at CPI plus 1.25%; 1987 years valued at today's pay; and the McCloud remedy left out (remedy years treated as 2015 scheme years). Pay is the 2026/27 top of the constable scale (£52,015) and of the sergeant scale (£58,175).
| Illustration | Inputs | Pension built up so far (a year, today's money) | Debit for the share | Officer keeps | Years of service to rebuild the debit at today's pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Constable, 2015 scheme only, 50% share | £52,015 pay (top of the constable scale), 10 years in the 2015 scheme | £10,298 | £5,149 | £5,149 | 5.5 years |
| B. The same officer, 30% share | As A | £10,298 | £3,089 | £7,208 | 3.3 years |
| C. Constable, 2015 scheme only, shorter service, 50% share | £52,015 pay, 6 years in the 2015 scheme | £5,967 | £2,984 | £2,984 | 3.2 years |
| D. Sergeant, 1987 scheme then 2015 scheme, 50% share | £58,175 pay (top of the sergeant scale), 12 years in the 1987 scheme and 11 years in the 2015 scheme | £24,415 | £12,207 | £12,207 | 11.6 years |
| E. The same sergeant, 25% share | As D | £24,415 | £6,104 | £18,311 | 5.8 years |
Reading illustration A. Ten years in the 2015 scheme at £52,015 have built up about £10,298 a year of pension. A 50% share takes a debit of about £5,149 a year. One more year at today's pay adds £941 a year (£52,015 divided by 55.3), so it would take roughly 5.5 years of further service at the same pay to build back the amount shared, before revaluation and before allowing for the debit itself rising with CPI.
Reading illustration D. A sergeant who joined the 1987 scheme 23 years ago has two parts: 12 years in the 1987 scheme (12/60 of today's pay) and 11 years in the 2015 scheme. Together they have built up about £24,415 a year. A 50% share would take about £12,207 a year, which at one 2015 scheme year of £1,052 is about 11.6 years of service to replace. A 25% share (illustration E) halves that.
What the illustrations leave out. The debit then rises with CPI each year until the officer's pension starts and is adjusted for retirement timing; the 1987 part of illustration D is the part most exposed to that (see the next sections). The McCloud remedy would value the remedy years at the higher of the two schemes, which could raise D. And the ex-partner's credit is a separate calculation the scheme does from the cash value.
The calculator at the top uses your own dates, so the marriage part and the scheme split reflect your history. For a whole-career pension estimate (not just the part built up so far), use the police pension calculator.
Why this is an estimate and not a CETV
For divorce, the police schemes give active and deferred members the same value as a statutory cash equivalent, even though police officers cannot normally transfer out, and pensioners get a pensioner cash equivalent (GAD guidance, paras 3.27 and 3.42). The schemes are unfunded, so these values come from factor tables the Government Actuary's Department issues to the Home Office. The calculator does not reproduce those tables (GAD does not allow it) and works in yearly pension instead.
The 19 May 2026 change. HM Treasury raised the SCAPE discount rate used for public service transfer values from CPI plus 1.7% to CPI plus 2.0% on 19 May 2026. GAD suspended the affected factors immediately and issued new ones; for police in England and Wales the transfer, pensioner divorce, pension credit and pension debit tables were issued on 21 May 2026 and implemented from 19 May 2026. A higher discount rate means a lower cash value for the same pension, and the NPCC's FAQs said values "may also be lower" than under the previous factors.
What this means in practice:
- A divorce CETV dated before 19 May 2026 was on the old basis. Ask the scheme whether a fresh one is needed.
- A lower CETV does not mean a lower pension. It is the same pension valued with a different rate. If you are agreeing a percentage, the percentage matters more than the cash figure.
- Where you are trading pension against other assets (offsetting), a lower cash value changes the trade, so get advice. See offsetting vs sharing.
The full mechanics of how a police CETV is built are in the pension settlement guide and the background to the pause in quotes is in why police pension quotes were suspended.
The pension debit after the order: CPI and retirement timing
The debit is the part most officers underestimate. On the day the order takes effect, the scheme works out the pension included in the cash equivalent and multiplies it by the percentage in the order (GAD guidance, paras 3.61 and 3.79). That is the debit. GAD then treats it as a "negative deferred pension":
- It is increased each year by Pensions Increase (CPI) from the day it is set until your pension starts.
- It is then adjusted by a retirement timing factor for when you actually retire.
- The adjusted debit is taken off your pension, and in some schemes off your lump sum too.
| 1987 scheme | 2006 scheme | 2015 scheme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The debit is worked out on | The pension in the cash equivalent on the day the order takes effect, times the percentage | Same, plus a separate lump sum debit | Same |
| Before the officer's pension starts | Increased each year by Pensions Increase (CPI) | Increased by CPI | Increased by CPI |
| Assumed payment age when it is set | Deferred pension age (60, or 50 with 25 years' service), or now if the officer could already retire on an immediate pension | 65, or now if immediate | State Pension age, or now if immediate |
| If the officer retires earlier than that | Adjusted by a retirement timing factor | Reduced by an early retirement factor (pension and lump sum debits) | Reduced by an early retirement factor |
| If the officer serves on past immediate entitlement | The timing factor is above 1, so the debit grows faster than CPI | No equivalent increase described in GAD's guidance | No equivalent increase described in GAD's guidance |
| Lump sum | Reduced indirectly: commutation is on the pension after the debit | Reduced directly by the lump sum debit | Reduced indirectly: commutation is on the pension after the debit |
| Death in service grant | Not reduced | Not reduced | Not reduced |
| Children's pensions | Not reduced | Disregarded | Disregarded |
| A later spouse's survivor pension | Reduced by a separate survivor debit (reg C10) | Ask the administrator (we did not check the 2006 rule) | Reduced by a separate survivor debit (reg 138) |
The 1987 serving-on trap. If a 1987 officer is already entitled to an immediate pension when the order takes effect (for example after 30 years) and keeps serving, the timing factor is above 1, so the debit grows faster than CPI. The PAG guide gives an example where a debit of £10,000 a year "could be as high as £20,000 per annum" by retirement. If you are near or past 25 or 30 years, ask your administrator and a pension on divorce expert how your retirement date changes the debit.
2006 and 2015. The debit is set assuming payment at 65 (2006) or State Pension age (2015). If you retire earlier, for example at 55 or on ill-health grounds, it is reduced by an early retirement factor because it will be deducted for longer. See ill-health pension and divorce.
Can I buy it back? Not as such. The 2006 regulations (reg 56(5)) forbid a debit member from replacing debited rights with rights they could not otherwise have bought. In the 2015 scheme the SPPA leaflet says you may be able to buy additional pension within the normal limits, but there is no special debit buy-back.
Annual allowance. A debit does not create a negative input in the year it happens: Finance Act 2004 s.236(2) adds the reduction back when working out your pension growth for that year.
The ex-partner's pension credit, by scheme
The ex-partner becomes a "pension credit member" of the same police scheme. The credit is a pension in its own right, paid for life, and it does not depend on the officer: the officer's retirement date, remarriage or death does not change it. Here are the rules the calculator shows for each scheme.
| 1987 scheme | 2006 scheme | 2015 scheme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit paid unreduced from | 60, or the date the order takes effect if later | 65 | State Pension age. The regulations also allow a claim from 55 with an early payment reduction (we could not confirm how administrators price this) |
| Lump sum for the ex-partner | Optional: up to a quarter commuted, capped at 2.25 times the yearly pension | Automatic: 4 times the yearly pension, unless the credit came from a pension already in payment | Optional: £12 for each £1 of yearly pension given up, within tax limits |
| Rises before payment | With CPI | With CPI | With CPI |
| Transfer out to another pension | Not allowed | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Survivor's pension for the ex-partner's new partner | None | None | None |
| If the ex-partner dies before it is paid | Lump sum of 2.25 times the yearly pension | Lump sum of 3 times the pension at 65 | Lump sum of 3 times the pension as if at State Pension age |
| If the ex-partner is terminally ill | Whole pension commuted for 5 times the yearly amount | 5 times the pension at 65 | 5 times the yearly amount |
| Ill-health early payment | No (terminal illness only) | No (terminal illness only) | No (terminal illness only) |
- The income gap. If the officer's pension is already being paid (or starts in their fifties) and the credit is not paid until 60, 65 or State Pension age, the ex-partner can wait years for any income. Courts and experts look at this. For retired officers, see divorce after police retirement.
- No survivor's pension on the credit. The SPPA leaflet says no dependants' benefits are payable on the death of a credit member, and the former spouse gets no widow's or widower's pension from the officer's scheme either (GAD guidance, para 3.94).
- 2015 credits from 55. The 2015 regulations let a credit member who has reached normal minimum pension age claim, with an early payment reduction. We could not find a published GAD table for this, so ask the administrator for a quote.
Partners: the plain-English version, with what to ask the scheme for, is in divorcing a police officer.
The part built up during the marriage: England and Wales vs Scotland
The calculator shows the marriage part because people ask for it, and because in Scotland it is the law. But it means different things on each side of the border.
England and Wales. A pension sharing order is a percentage of the cash equivalent of the whole pension (WRPA 1999 s.29(2)), not just the part from the marriage. The court has a duty to consider pensions even if they will not be paid for years (MCA 1973 s.25B(1)). Whether pension built up before the marriage or after separation should be treated differently is a matter for the court's discretion in a contested case; the PAG guide (Part 12, para 35) says that as a general rule apportionment is rarely appropriate in needs cases, and describes three ways of doing it where it is. So the marriage part is useful background for a negotiation, not the base of the order.
Scotland. Only the pension built up between the marriage and the relevant date (the earlier of separation and service of the divorce summons) is matrimonial property (Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 s.10). The value is apportioned by time: value at the relevant date, times membership during the marriage before the relevant date, divided by total membership before it (SSI 2000/112 reg 4). Fair sharing is equal sharing unless special circumstances justify otherwise. The order then gives a cash amount, which the scheme converts into a percentage of the whole cash equivalent.
Take illustration A: £10,298 a year built up over 10 years, and say the couple were married for 6 of those years before separating (assume the relevant date is recent). The matrimonial part is £10,298 x 6 / 10 = £6,179. Equal sharing of that part is £3,089, which is about 30% of the whole pension built up. The real order works on the cash value at the relevant date, not on yearly pension, but the proportions work the same way.
In Scotland the scheme must receive copies of the order or agreement and the divorce decree, with the prescribed information, within 2 months of the date of the extract of the decree, or the share is treated as never having taken effect, unless the court extends the time (WRPA 1999 s.28(7) to (10)). SPPA also needs an agreement registered in the Books of Council and Session. The full Scottish process is in police divorce in Scotland.
Northern Ireland has its own legislation and the PSNI schemes. The calculator does not model them, and we could not confirm the PSNI legacy scheme sharing rules from a primary source.
Sharing, offsetting or attachment: where the calculator fits
A pension sharing order is not the only way to deal with a police pension. The calculator models sharing, because that is the option that changes the pension itself, but the same figures feed the other two options.
| Option | How it works | What the calculator tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Pension sharing order | A percentage of the pension's value moves to the ex-partner as a separate police pension credit. Clean break on the pension | The debit and what the officer keeps, for the percentage you choose |
| Offsetting | The officer keeps the pension and the partner gets more of the house or savings instead. No statutory formula: it is negotiated, and a pound of pension is not a pound of cash | The yearly pension at stake, which is the starting point for any offset; the paid report and the offsetting calculator go further |
| Attachment (earmarking) order | The scheme pays part of the officer's pension or lump sum to the ex-partner when it becomes payable (MCA 1973 s.25B). Not possible alongside a sharing order in the same marriage. Payments depend on the officer being alive and drawing the pension | Not modelled. Ask a solicitor whether it suits your case |
Offsetting has no statutory basis; it is a trade agreed between you or decided by the court. The PAG guide says the cash equivalent is often not an appropriate value for offsetting a public or private sector defined benefit pension, and that most negligence claims against family lawyers in pension cases relate to ill-considered offsetting agreements, so an offset usually needs expert figures. Compare the options on your own figures with the offsetting vs sharing calculator.
McCloud remedy service and the greater-of rule
If you served between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 and were in the 1987 or 2006 scheme before that, your service in that window is remedy service. You choose at retirement whether it is paid as legacy or 2015 scheme benefits. Divorce has its own rules for this, in Part 4 of the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023.
- Information provided on or after 1 October 2023 (active or deferred, not yet chosen): the scheme values the remedy service both as legacy benefits and as 2015 scheme benefits and must use the greater of the two (reg 24). GAD's prospective guidance records a legacy debit and a reformed debit, and switches to the reformed one if you later choose 2015 benefits.
- Information provided before 1 October 2023: the scheme had to work out an alternative credit and adjust where the rules required, with a statement to the credit member by 30 September 2024 (reg 20).
- For the calculator: it values remedy years as 2015 scheme service. Where the legacy value is higher, the scheme's figure will be higher than the calculator's, so treat the estimate as a lower guide for those years.
The full explanation, including orders made before the remedy, is in McCloud remedy and divorce, and the remedy itself in McCloud remedy explained.
Costs and timing of a police pension share
The figures below are from the regulations and the published schedules we read. Ask your administrator for their current schedule before you start, because schemes must tell you their charges in writing in advance.
| Item | Cost | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce cash equivalent (CETV) from the scheme | Free once in any 12 months for active and deferred members | Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations 2000 reg 3 |
| A second CETV within 12 months | £340 (Met schedule, 2023 version); £1,080 standard in Scotland (SPPA, from April 2026) | Met Police Pension schedule of charges v30; SPPA leaflet section 12 |
| Time to provide it | 6 weeks if you say on the request that it is for divorce proceedings; otherwise up to 3 months | SI 2000/1048 reg 2 |
| Implementing a pension sharing order | £4,070 for active or deferred members (Met schedule, 2023 version, uprated each April); £4,320 standard or £6,345.60 complex (SPPA, from 1 April 2026) | Met schedule v30; SPPA leaflet section 12 |
| Court fee: consent order | £62 | GOV.UK |
| Court fee: contested financial order (Form A) | £321 | GOV.UK |
| Pension on divorce expert report | Varies widely; agree it in writing first | See the PODE guide |
Once the order has taken effect and the scheme has everything it needs, it has 4 months to implement the share (WRPA 1999 s.34). Unpaid charges can hold up the start of that period. An order cannot take effect earlier than 7 days after the time for appealing has run out (SI 2000/1123 reg 9), and in England and Wales not until the final order of divorce (MCA 1973 s.24B(2)).
Some older guidance suggests a few hundred pounds to implement a share. The schedules we read show £4,070 (Met, 2023 version) and £4,320 standard in Scotland from April 2026. Agree in the order who pays it.
Police-specific traps the calculator flags
Appendix I of the PAG guide lists features of uniformed service schemes that surprise people on divorce. These are the ones that apply to police pensions, in our words.
- Just short of 25 years (1987). With 24 years the deferred pension is payable at 60; with 25 it is payable at 50. A CETV taken just before 25 years can undervalue the pension.
- Serving on after immediate entitlement (1987). The debit grows beyond CPI, as explained above.
- 1987 and 2015 together. The PAG guide notes that the value of 1987 benefits can fall as the officer works past 30 years because of how debits are treated.
- Pay freezes. A CPI-linked debit can outgrow a final salary pension when pensionable pay is frozen.
- The income gap. A 1987 share can cut a pension in payment straight away while the ex-partner waits until 60.
- Credit member in poor health. There is one set of credit factors, with no allowance for poor health, so a credit member in poor health may get less value from a credit.
- Injury awards. An injury award under the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 is not part of the police pension CETV. See injury awards and divorce.
The PAG guide's own words on uniformed schemes are that equal division of the cash value "can lead to very unexpected outcomes" and that such cases will require expert input.
For partners: reading the figures from your side
Most police divorce content is written for the officer. If you are the partner, the same figures answer different questions, so here is how to read them.
- The debit is not what you will be paid. Your credit is worked out by the scheme from the cash value transferred, using your age. Ask the scheme for an illustration of the credit, not just the CETV.
- When it starts matters as much as how much. A 2015 scheme credit is paid unreduced at your State Pension age, a 2006 credit at 65 and a 1987 credit at 60. If the officer's pension starts in their fifties, there may be years when they have a police pension and you do not.
- It is yours for life. The credit does not stop if the officer dies, retires early, remarries or is dismissed, and your own remarriage does not affect it.
- It stays in the police scheme. You cannot transfer it to another pension or take it as cash, apart from the lump sum rules shown in the credit table.
- Nobody inherits it as a pension. There is no survivor's pension on a credit, only a lump sum if you die before it is paid. Plan life cover and other provision with that in mind.
- Before the order, you may still be the officer's spouse for death benefits. During separation the spouse normally still gets the death grant under the 2006 and 2015 schemes. That changes once the final order is made, which is one reason not to rush it.
The full partner's guide is divorcing a police officer.
What to ask the pension administrator
The calculator gets you to the right questions. These are the ones that make the scheme's answer useful, whether you are the officer or the partner (partners usually get the figures through the officer's disclosure or the court).
| Ask the administrator for | Why |
|---|---|
| A cash equivalent for divorce, dated after 19 May 2026 | The court needs the scheme's own value, on the factors now in force |
| The value split by scheme (1987 or 2006, remedy service, 2015) | Each part follows different debit, credit and timing rules |
| How remedy service (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022) has been valued, and whether the legacy or 2015 value was higher | SI 2023/831 reg 24 requires the greater of the two |
| Your pensionable service dates and any breaks, part-time periods or transfers in | So you can check the calculator's dates and the scheme's records match |
| The earliest date you could take an immediate pension in each scheme | It sets the debit's assumed payment age in the 1987 scheme |
| The scheme's schedule of divorce charges, in writing | Charges must be notified in advance, and the order should say who pays |
| The information the court needs for Form P | The pension inquiry form used where a sharing or attachment order may be made |
| Whether a pension credit from this scheme would be paid at 60, 65 or State Pension age | The ex-partner's income plan depends on it, and in Scotland it can depend on dates |
Say in writing that the valuation is for divorce proceedings. That triggers the 6-week time limit, and the first one in 12 months is free for active and deferred members.
What to do next, step by step
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run this calculator with your dates and pay, for the shares you are discussing | So you know the scale before you pay for anything |
| 2 | Ask your administrator for a divorce CETV, saying it is for divorce proceedings | Free once in 12 months, due within 6 weeks when you say it is for divorce |
| 3 | If you have service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, ask how McCloud remedy service has been valued | The divorce value must use the higher of the legacy and 2015 scheme values for that service |
| 4 | Check the CETV date against 19 May 2026 | Values before then used the old discount rate |
| 5 | Exchange Form E with the CETV and Form P answers | The court and the other side need the scheme's own figures |
| 6 | Decide whether you need a pension on divorce expert | The PAG guide says uniformed service schemes usually need one when a share is in play |
| 7 | Agree the percentage (England and Wales) or the cash amount (Scotland) and get the order drafted with the scheme's annex | The scheme implements only what the order and annex say |
| 8 | Do not apply for the final order before the financial order is sealed | A pension sharing order cannot take effect until the final order, and survivor rights can be lost if you go too early |
| 9 | Pay the implementation charge and send everything to the scheme | The 4-month implementation period does not start until the scheme has the documents (and, at SPPA, its fee) |
Two other things to do now, whichever side you are on: update your death grant nomination and check who would get what if the officer died during separation (see death in service and divorce), and work through the police divorce checklist so the pension steps happen in the right order. For Form E on police pay, see Form E for police officers.
If you need help choosing a solicitor, the police divorce solicitors guide explains what to ask, and the Federation family law offers page lists what branches publish.
Who can help
| Who | What they can help with |
|---|---|
| Your pension administrator | Your CETV, service history, remedy statement, charges and how an order would be implemented. They will not advise on the settlement |
| Family solicitor | What is fair, the order and its pension annex, the timing of the final order, and court procedure |
| Pension on divorce expert (PODE) | Income-equality and offsetting calculations; the PAG guide says uniformed service schemes usually need one. PODEs are not regulated as a profession, so check who you instruct |
| Mediator | Agreeing the figures without court; you must attend a mediation information meeting before applying for a financial order, with exemptions |
| MoneyHelper | Free general guidance on pensions and divorce |
| PolicePay enquiry form | Sends your enquiry to PolicePay (Andrew Thomas). It does not book a free call and is not legal advice |
We do not recommend or rank law firms or experts. The pension on divorce expert guide explains when an expert report is worth paying for and what it should cover.
Myths and facts
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| "My ex gets half of my pension at retirement." | An order shares a percentage of the pension built up to the day it takes effect. Pension you build afterwards is yours, although the debit keeps rising with CPI. |
| "A 50% share means we each end up with the same pension." | Not usually. The credit is worked out from a cash value using the ex-partner's own age and scheme factors, and is paid at 60, 65 or State Pension age. Equal incomes often need a different percentage, which is what pension on divorce experts work out. |
| "Only the years we were married count." | In England and Wales the order is a percentage of the whole value. Whether the pre-marriage part should be left out is for agreement or the court; the PAG guide says that in needs cases it is rarely appropriate. Scotland is different: only the marriage part is matrimonial property. |
| "My ex can take the credit as cash or move it." | No. The credit stays in the police scheme in all three schemes and cannot be transferred out. |
| "The divorce will cut my death in service grant." | The debit does not reduce the death grant or children's pensions. Who gets the grant is a separate question, covered in the death in service guide. |
| "Our CETV from last year is still fine." | A value worked out before 19 May 2026 used the old discount rate. Ask the scheme whether a new figure is needed for the court. |
| "I can buy back what the order takes." | Not as a buy-back. The 2006 rules forbid replacing debited rights, and in the 2015 scheme you can only buy added pension within the normal limits. |
What the calculator does not do, and what we could not verify
- It does not produce a CETV, a pension credit amount or a debit the scheme will apply.
- It does not apply the McCloud greater-of rule; remedy years are valued as 2015 scheme service.
- It uses today's pay for every year of service, which slightly overstates 2015 scheme years when pay was lower.
- It does not model the 1987 retirement timing factor, early retirement factors or survivor debits.
- It does not cover Northern Ireland (PSNI) schemes, pensions already in payment, or ill-health enhancements.
- We could not confirm how administrators price a 2015 credit member's early claim from 55, the exact Scottish rule linking credit age to implementation date, or the 2026 version of the Met's schedule of charges.
If anything on this page looks out of date, our corrections policy explains how to tell us.
Free: the police divorce checklist (PDF)
The documents to gather, the pension steps from CETV to pension sharing order, and the questions to ask a solicitor, written for police officers and their partners. Enter your email to download it. We will also send occasional police divorce and pension updates; unsubscribe any time.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a police pension divorce calculator?
Yes, this one. It estimates the pension a police officer has built up so far by scheme, the part built up during the marriage, the pension debit a chosen share would take, what the officer keeps and the rules for the ex-partner's credit. It is an estimate in today's money, not a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV). Only the scheme administrator's CETV can be used in court.
How accurate is the calculator compared with a CETV?
It is a planning estimate. The scheme's CETV turns the pension into a cash value using Government Actuary's Department factors, which changed on 19 May 2026, and the debit is then set from that value. The calculator works in yearly pension instead, so it shows the scale of a share, not the exact figure the scheme will use.
How is a police pension split on divorce in England and Wales?
Usually by a pension sharing order. The order gives a percentage, and the scheme takes that percentage of the cash equivalent of the pension built up to the day the order takes effect. The officer's pension is reduced by a pension debit and the ex-partner gets a pension credit of the same value inside the police scheme.
Does my ex get half my police pension?
Not automatically. The percentage is agreed or ordered, and it can be anything from nothing to 100%. Courts look at needs, the length of the marriage and other assets, and the PAG guide says equal retirement incomes will often be fair. A 50% share of the value does not usually give equal incomes, because the credit is paid at a different age.
Will pension I build up after the divorce be shared?
No. The law values the pension as if the officer had left service the day before the order takes effect, so later service is not debited. The debit itself rises with CPI until the officer's pension starts, and in the 1987 scheme it can grow faster if the officer serves on past the point of immediate entitlement.
When does my ex-partner get the pension credit?
In the 1987 scheme from 60, in the 2006 scheme from 65, and in the 2015 scheme from State Pension age, with a claim possible from 55 at a reduced rate under the regulations. The credit does not depend on when the officer retires or whether the officer is alive, and it rises with CPI until it is paid.
Can the pension credit be transferred to another pension?
No. All three police schemes forbid transferring a pension credit out. The ex-partner becomes a pension credit member of the police scheme. There is no survivor's pension on a credit, and remarrying does not affect it.
Did the May 2026 change affect police pension CETVs?
Yes. HM Treasury raised the discount rate used for public service transfer values from CPI plus 1.7% to CPI plus 2.0% on 19 May 2026. Calculations were paused, new factors were issued on 21 May 2026 and implemented from 19 May, and the NPCC said values may be lower than under the old factors. Ask whether a CETV from before then needs redoing.
How does the McCloud remedy affect a divorce valuation?
For valuations requested from 1 October 2023 for officers with remedy service (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022) who have not yet chosen, the scheme values that service both ways and must use the greater of the legacy and 2015 scheme values. Older orders were reviewed under separate rules. The calculator values the remedy years as 2015 scheme service, so treat its figure as a lower guide.
Is the pension I built up before the marriage included?
In England and Wales the order is a percentage of the whole value, so the question is what percentage is fair. Whether to leave out pre-marriage or post-separation pension is for the court in a contested case; the PAG guide says it is rarely appropriate in needs cases. In Scotland only the part built up in the marriage before the relevant date counts.
How is a Police Scotland pension shared differently?
Only the pension built up between the marriage and the relevant date (usually separation) is matrimonial property, found by multiplying the value by marriage membership over total membership. The order states a cash amount, which the scheme turns into a percentage. The documents must reach the scheme within 2 months of the extract of the divorce decree, and SPPA charges £4,320 for a standard implementation from April 2026.
What does a police pension sharing order cost?
The first divorce CETV in any 12 months is free. Implementing the order is charged: the Met's 2023 schedule shows £4,070 for an active or deferred member, and SPPA charges £4,320 for a standard case from April 2026. The court fee is £62 for a consent order or £321 to start a contested financial case, plus any legal and expert fees.
Does a pension debit reduce my police lump sum?
Yes. In the 2006 scheme there is a separate lump sum debit. In the 1987 and 2015 schemes the lump sum comes from commuting pension, and commutation is worked out on the pension after the debit, so the lump sum is lower too. The paid report shows this on your own figures.
Does pension sharing reduce the death in service grant?
No. GAD's guidance for all three schemes says the debit is not applied to the death grant, and children's pensions are not reduced. A future spouse's survivor pension is reduced by a separate survivor debit. The death in service and divorce guide covers who gets the grant during separation.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 19 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, section 29 (creation of pension debits and credits) : percentage of the cash equivalent on the valuation day; active member valued as if service ended the day before (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, sections 31 and 34 : reduction of benefit; 4-month implementation period (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, section 28 : Scottish orders: 2-month deadline for the scheme to receive documents (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 24B : a pension sharing order does not take effect until the final order (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000, regulation 2 : 6 weeks when told it is for divorce proceedings, otherwise 3 months (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations 2000, regulation 3 : no charge for a valuation unless one was provided in the previous 12 months (or other listed cases) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions (Pension Sharing) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/3202) : 1987 scheme Part M: credit at 60, commutation, no transfer out (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3415), as made : regs 56(5), 61 to 64 and 79: credit at 65, 4 times lump sum, no buy-back, no transfer (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445), Part 8 : credit members: entitlement, commutation at 12 to 1, terminal illness; reg 180(3) no transfer (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/831), regulation 24 : divorce cash equivalent for remedy service: the greater of the two values (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Government Actuary's Department: Police (England and Wales) guidance notes, including transfer value and pension sharing guidance for the 1987, 2006 and 2015 schemes (10 December 2020) and McCloud divorce guidance : how the debit is set, revalued and adjusted for retirement timing; credit ages; death grant not reduced (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Government Actuary's Department: Police (England and Wales) consolidated factor workbooks : 2026 assumptions; divorce tables issued 21 May 2026 and implemented 19 May 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Public service pension schemes, new CETV factors (16 June 2026) : SCAPE change on 19 May 2026; factors suspended and reissued (accessed 19 October 2026)
- NPCC: SCAPE discount rate changes, FAQs (May 2026, hosted by Lincolnshire Police Federation) : values may be lower; CETV calculations temporarily paused (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Scottish Public Pensions Agency: Pensions on Divorce, Police and Fire (1 April 2026) : Scottish valuation period, charges, credit ages, no transfer and no dependants' benefits (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, section 10 : fair sharing, relevant date and the matrimonial share of pension rights (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Divorce etc. (Pensions) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/112), regulation 4 : valuation formula A x B / C (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Pension Advisory Group: A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce, 2nd edition (Nuffield Foundation, CC BY 4.0) : apportionment rarely appropriate in needs cases (Part 12 para 35); uniformed service schemes need expert input; Appendix I police traps (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Met Police Pension: pensions on divorce or dissolution, schedule of charges v30 (26 April 2023) : £340 extra CETV, £4,070 implementation (2023 figures, uprated each April) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Money and property when you divorce or separate, consent orders and asking the court to decide : £62 consent order; £321 Form A (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Home Office: CPI and the Police Pension Scheme 2015 career average revalued earnings (consultation page, updated 5 August 2026) : 1/55.3 of pensionable earnings a year; CPI plus 1.25% while active, used in the illustrations (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Finance Act 2004, section 236 : pension debits and credits in the annual allowance calculation (accessed 19 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. It is not a law firm or a financial adviser, is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and this page is general information, not legal, financial or pension advice. Every divorce settlement depends on the facts, and pension sharing is decided by agreement or by a court. Figures from our calculators are estimates on stated assumptions: the scheme administrator's cash equivalent and the court order are what count. For decisions about your settlement, speak to a family solicitor and, where the pension is a large part of the money, a pension on divorce expert. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 19 October 2026.