The UK Authority on
Police Pay, Pensions & Financial Planning
Independent calculators, pension modelling and regulation-based guidance for serving officers, police staff and candidates across the UK. Move beyond headline salary and understand the wider financial reality of your career.
Salary & Net Pay
Calculate exact take-home pay, pension contributions, and allowance values based on rank and length of service.
Pension Command
Project lifetime pension value, lump sum commutation, retirement age choices, and McCloud legacy scheme scenarios.
Mortgage Borrowing
Check borrowing multiples and stress-test affordability limits. See how police overtime is treated by specialist lenders.
Overtime Rates
Model overtime rates including plain time, time-and-a-half, double time, and short-notice shift adjustments.
Plan Your Entire Police Financial Picture
PolicePay is designed to help officers and staff move beyond headline salary figures and understand the wider financial reality of policing, including pension value, overtime, mortgage affordability and retirement planning.
"What is my monthly take-home pay?"
"Is the police pension worth it?"
"How much overtime do I need?"
"How much can I borrow?"
"Should I take a lump sum?"
"What happens if I reduce hours?"
"What happens if I promote?"
"What could injury retirement look like?"
Most Used by Officers This Week
Salary Calculator
Calculate your exact take-home pay, pension contributions and overtime rates. Updated for 2026.
Pension Command Centre
Model your pension across 1987, 2006 & 2015 schemes, including McCloud choice forecasts.
Overtime Calculator
Calculate Regulation 25 overtime, bank holiday rates, and short-notice pay adjustments.
Mortgage Borrowing Calculator
Estimate mortgage borrowing limits and stress-test net pay with pension deductions.
Injury Award Calculator
Model potential injury-on-duty payments based on salary and disablement bands.
Candidate Mock Interview
Practice mock interview questions based on the national Competency and Values Framework (CVF).
The Flagship Police Pension Platform
Pension Command Centre - £47
Model your police pension across the 1987, 2006 and 2015 CARE schemes, including McCloud scenarios, retirement age, lump sum choices, commutation and lifetime pension value.
Start Here. Choose your journey.
Serving Officers
Pay scales, overtime rates, CARE pension structures, and regulation-based welfare rights.
Joining The Police
Starting salary expectation, vetting guides, assessment center preparation, and recruitment checklists.
Welfare & Health
Sickness entitlements, stress leave full-pay duration, injury pension awards, and medical retirement rules.
Misconduct & Risk
Gross misconduct processes, barred list effects, Regulation 13 probation dismissals, and vetting appeals.
Common Police Searches
Regulations & Legal Explainers
Plain-English breakdowns of police regulation, public office law, and case files.
Arrest & PACE Powers
Stop & Search Rights
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Can Police Search Your Phone?
PACE Section 19, RIPA, and consent rules.
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What is Section 60?
Suspicionless search powers, authority levels, and limits.
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GOWISELY Protocol Explained
Procedural requirements for search validity.
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Strip Search Law & Rights
Legal safeguards, supervision, and custody guidelines.
Constitutional Law
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Who Investigates the PM?
Metropolitan Police jurisdiction and public interest tests.
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Sovereign Immunity & The King
Crown prosecution exemptions and historical precedent.
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Parliamentary Privilege
Freedom of speech in Parliament vs police investigation.
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What is Judicial Review?
Challenging police force and ministerial decisions in court.
National Reform &
Workforce Research
PolicePay tracks the data and policy changes shaping UK policing, from retention surveys to national service reform. We provide objective analysis of workforce culture, representation, and career context.
Police Reform White Paper 2026
Independent review of the legislative changes and impacts on serving officers.
Workforce StatisticsOur Black Workforce Survey
Retention data, career progression barriers, and demographic findings.
Representation MapComplete Map of Representation
Comprehensive guide to staff networks, federation boards, and support associations.
Common Questions Officers Search For
How much is a police officer paid in 2026?
Police pay is based on rank and years of service. For 2026, a starting constable in England and Wales earns approximately £29,907 (post-2025 pay award), rising annually to over £48,231 at the top of the scale (after 7 years). Rates differ slightly in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and additional allowances apply for London and specific roles.
Is the police pension worth it?
Yes, the 2015 CARE (Career Average Revalued Earnings) police pension remains one of the most valuable public sector pensions in the UK. Forces contribute approximately 25% to 31% of your pensionable pay, which far exceeds private sector match rates, and benefits include index-linked lifetime income and death-in-service protection.
How much overtime do police officers get?
Under Regulation 25, officers are compensated for overtime at time-and-a-half (1.5x) for normal rest day working, double time (2.0x) for bank holidays, or plain time depending on the advance notice given. The average officer works several hours of overtime weekly, depending on force resources and operational demand.
Can police overtime count for a mortgage?
Yes, most specialist police mortgage lenders will accept regular overtime income. While generic high-street lenders may only consider 50% of overtime, specialized lenders often factor in 100% of historical overtime (typically evidenced by the last 3 to 6 months of payslips).
What is the retirement age for police officers?
Under the current 2015 CARE pension scheme, the Normal Pension Age (NPA) is 60. However, officers can choose to retire and draw their pension from age 55, subject to an actuarial reduction of approximately 5% for each year taken before age 60.
What is the McCloud remedy?
The McCloud remedy is the government's correction of age discrimination introduced during the 2015 public sector pension reforms. Serving officers who were in service on or before 31 March 2012 and remained in service on or after 1 April 2015 are placed back into their legacy scheme (e.g., 1987 or 2006) for the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022), with a choice of scheme benefits at retirement.
What happens at a misconduct hearing?
A misconduct hearing is a formal meeting chaired by an independent Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) to determine whether an officer breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour at a level of Gross Misconduct. If proven, outcomes range from a written warning to immediate dismissal without notice.
How long is police stress leave on full pay?
Under Police Regulations 2003, officers are entitled to up to 6 months of full pay during sickness absence (including stress and mental health leave), followed by 6 months of half pay. Chief Officers have discretion to extend full pay under specific circumstances, such as injury on duty.
Can probationary officers be dismissed under Regulation 13?
Yes. Regulation 13 of the Police Regulations 2003 allows a Chief Constable to dispense with the services of a student officer at any point during their probation if they are deemed unlikely to become an efficient, well-conducted, or physically/mentally fit constable.
Does London Weighting affect police mortgage affordability?
Yes. London Weighting and London Allowance are pensionable, permanent additions to basic salary. Lenders treat these allowances as guaranteed income, directly increasing your gross annual earnings and therefore raising your borrowing multiple and borrowing power.
Can I retire before 60 on the police pension?
Yes, officers in the 2015 CARE scheme can retire and access pension benefits from age 55, though benefits will be actuarially reduced. Officers with protected service in the legacy 1987 scheme can retire after 25 years of service (with reduced pension) or 30 years of service (with full pension) regardless of age.
What does the Pension Command Centre do?
The Pension Command Centre is a premium (£47) interactive planning platform. It allows UK officers to input service histories across the 1987, 2006, and 2015 CARE schemes, model their McCloud remedy choices, compare retirement ages, assess commutation options (lump sums), and project lifetime pension value.
Plan Beyond the Payslip
Police salary is only one part of the picture. Explore pension value, overtime income, mortgage affordability and long-term financial planning using PolicePay's independent police-specific tools.
The Independent Resource for
Police Pay & Financial Planning
PolicePay exists to simplify complex police pay, pension and career regulations through independent calculators, plain-English explainers and long-term financial planning tools designed specifically for UK policing.