Injury Pension and
DWP Benefits
A police injury pension and state benefits affect each other in two directions. Some benefits come off your injury pension. Your injury pension can then reduce some means-tested benefits. Here is each rule, with the 2026/27 IIDB rates and worked examples.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 7 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Schedule 3 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 deducts, week by week, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and reduced earnings allowance for the same injury, legacy incapacity benefits, and contribution-based or New Style ESA up to the first day after retirement without limited capability for work. Universal Credit, PIP, DLA and the State Pension are not deducted. In the other direction, DWP guidance counts police disablement pensions as occupational pension income, so on that guidance an injury pension reduces Universal Credit pound for pound.
Two different questions
People often mix up two separate sets of rules. Keeping them apart makes everything else on this page easier.
- Does a benefit reduce my injury pension? That is decided by the police rules: Schedule 3 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006. Only the benefits listed in paragraph 7 come off. Your force's pension administrator applies this rule.
- Does my injury pension reduce a benefit? That is decided by the benefit's own rules, applied by DWP. Universal Credit, for example, counts your police pensions as income. New Style ESA has its own pension rule.
So a benefit can be ignored by the police rules and still be affected by your pension, or the other way round. Universal Credit is the clearest case: it never comes off your injury pension, but your injury pension comes off it.
This page uses "band 1 to 4" as shorthand. The regulations talk about the degree of disablement, measured by how much your earning capacity has been affected. Band 1 is slight (25% or less), band 2 minor, band 3 major and band 4 very severe (more than 75%). The Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) decides the degree. This page covers England and Wales.
What Schedule 3 deducts from the injury pension
The injury pension starts as a minimum income guarantee: a percentage of your average pensionable pay, set by your degree of disablement and length of service. Two deductions then apply.
- Paragraph 6: three-quarters of your police pension. This is the ordinary or ill-health pension from the 1987, 2006 or 2015 scheme. A pension reduced by commutation, allocation or a pension debit on divorce is treated as if it had not been reduced.
- Paragraph 7: listed state benefits, week by week. The full amount of each listed benefit you are entitled to for the same week comes off that week's injury pension.
Paragraph 8 then says that if the deductions add up to more than the guarantee, no injury pension is paid for that week. The gratuity (the lump sum) is not reduced by these Schedule 3 deductions.
The paragraph 7 list, with the 2017 and 2018 amendments applied, is:
| Benefit | When it is deducted |
|---|---|
| Industrial injuries benefit for the duty injury (7(3)(a)) | In full, or the part relating to the duty injury, including unemployability supplement, reduced earnings allowance paid as an increase, and the hospital treatment increase while you are an in-patient because of the injury |
| Reduced earnings allowance for the duty injury (7(3)(b)) | In full, or the part relating to the duty injury |
| Incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance (7(3)(c)) | Until the first day after retirement that is not, or is treated as not, a day of incapacity for work |
| Contribution-based or New Style ESA (7(3)(d), SI 2017/21 and SI 2018/262) | Until the first day after retirement on which you do not have, and are not treated as having, limited capability for work |
| ESA after an incapacity benefit deduction ended (7(3)(e), SI 2018/262) | Not deducted |
Two technical points. Paragraph 7(4) says that if DWP paid you a one-off disablement gratuity for the injury, it is treated as if it were a weekly pension over the period it was assessed for. Paragraph 7(2) caps a deduction where the rules setting benefit scales have changed since you left. Our deductions guide explains the cap and the Court of Appeal's decision in Evans (2018), which held that the full weekly amount is deducted at current rates.
legislation.gov.uk shows Schedule 3 as it was made in 2006 and lists the ESA amendments as not yet applied. If someone quotes you the online text without ESA, or with ESA but without the 2018 limit, they are reading an incomplete version. We read SI 2017/21 and SI 2018/262 directly.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB): 2026/27 rates
IIDB is a DWP benefit for people who became ill or disabled because of an accident or disease at work. GOV.UK says you can claim if you were employed when the accident or event happened, and that you cannot claim if you were self-employed. A constable holds an office with earnings, which the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 counts as employment for this purpose. DWP decides each claim.
DWP's medical adviser assesses your disablement on a scale of 1 to 100%. That is a different test from the police earning capacity assessment, so the two percentages will often differ. GOV.UK says you normally need to be assessed at 14% or more. The weekly rates on GOV.UK, which match the Scottish Government's 2026-27 up-rating table, are:
| Assessed disablement | Weekly amount |
|---|---|
| 100% | £233.90 |
| 90% | £210.51 |
| 80% | £187.12 |
| 70% | £163.73 |
| 60% | £140.34 |
| 50% | £116.95 |
| 40% | £93.56 |
| 30% | £70.17 |
| 20% | £46.78 |
GOV.UK describes these amounts as a guide. Rates normally change each April, so check GOV.UK for the year you are reading this.
How to claim
- Form BI100A is for accidents caused by work. Form BI100PD is for diseases caused by work.
- You can download the form from GOV.UK or ask the Barnsley IIDB Centre to post one (0800 121 8379, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
- DWP may decide on the paperwork or invite you to a face-to-face assessment run by the Health Assessment Advisory Service.
- If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
How IIDB affects other benefits
GOV.UK says you can still get IIDB if you are claiming contribution-based ESA, Incapacity Benefit, New Style Jobseeker's Allowance or the State Pension. It also says IIDB will affect income-related ESA, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, and may affect Council Tax Reduction. Universal Credit counts IIDB as unearned income, apart from the constant attendance and exceptionally severe disablement increases (Universal Credit Regulations 2013, regulation 66(1)(b)(ix)).
Worked example A: IIDB smaller than the injury pension
A constable who joined in 2016 has 10 years' service, all in the 2015 scheme. Pay is the 2026/27 constable top point, £52,015, used as final pay for simplicity. They are retired on a lower-tier ill-health pension of £9,406 a year (accrued pension, from our engine). The SMP assesses band 3 (major disablement). Separately, DWP assesses them at 40% for IIDB for the same injury.
- Guarantee: 70% of £52,015 = £36,410.50 a year (service column 5 to under 15 years).
- Less three-quarters of the ill-health pension: £7,054.48.
- Injury pension before benefits: £29,356.02 a year, or £562.74 a week (dividing by 52 1/6, as regulation 5(1) requires).
- Less IIDB at 40%: £562.74 − £93.56 = £469.18 a week, about £24,475.31 a year.
- IIDB paid by DWP: £93.56 a week, about £4,880.71 a year.
| Without IIDB | With IIDB at 40% | |
|---|---|---|
| Ill-health pension (taxable) | £9,405.97 | £9,405.97 |
| Injury pension (tax-free) | £29,356.02 | £24,475.31 |
| IIDB (tax-free) | £0.00 | £4,880.71 |
| Total | £38,761.99 | £38,761.99 |
The total does not change. Every pound of IIDB replaced a pound of injury pension. Both are tax-free, so the result after tax is the same too. In this example the ill-health pension is below the £12,570 personal allowance, so no tax is due on it either.
If this person also claimed Universal Credit, the result would still be the same, because Universal Credit counts both the injury pension and IIDB as unearned income. The only practical differences are paperwork and timing: two payers instead of one, and a risk of overpayment if the administrator hears about the IIDB late.
Worked example B: IIDB bigger than the injury pension
Same officer, same ill-health pension of £9,406, but the SMP assesses band 1 (slight disablement), and DWP assesses 80% for IIDB. Because the two assessments use different tests, this pairing is unusual. We show it only to explain paragraph 8.
- Guarantee: 30% of £52,015 = £15,604.50 a year.
- Less three-quarters of the ill-health pension: £7,054.48.
- Injury pension before benefits: £8,550.02 a year, or £163.90 a week.
- IIDB at 80% is £187.12 a week, which is more than the weekly injury pension.
- Paragraph 8: no injury pension is paid for any week in which the deductions exceed it. Weekly injury pension: £0.00.
| Without IIDB | With IIDB at 80% | |
|---|---|---|
| Ill-health pension | £180.31 | £180.31 |
| Injury pension | £163.90 | £0.00 |
| IIDB | £0.00 | £187.12 |
| Total a week | £344.20 | £367.43 |
Here the total goes up by £23.22 a week, because the IIDB above the level of the injury pension is not clawed back. The injury award itself still exists. If DWP later lowers the IIDB, or your injury pension is revised on review, the weekly injury pension can come back into payment. The gratuity is not affected either way.
You can try your own figures: the injury award calculator gives your injury pension after the pension deduction. Divide by 52 1/6 for the weekly figure, then take off any listed benefit you receive for the same injury.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
ESA is where most confusion arises, because three different rules meet.
1. Which ESA comes off the injury pension
Only ESA under sections 1(2)(a) or 1B of the Welfare Reform Act 2007: the contribution-based or New Style element. Income-related ESA is not mentioned. The deduction has changed twice:
- Before 10 February 2017 ESA was not on the list at all. Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance were.
- SI 2017/21 added contribution-based ESA from 10 February 2017.
- SI 2018/262 narrowed it, with effect back to 10 February 2017. ESA is deducted only until the first day after retirement on which you no longer have, and are not treated as having, limited capability for work. Its explanatory note says the injury pension is not reduced for "second or subsequent post retirement entitlements". New paragraph 7(3)(e) also stops any ESA deduction where an incapacity benefit deduction ended and ESA was claimed afterwards.
In plain terms: ESA is deducted only while every day since your retirement has been a day of limited capability for work (actual or treated). Once there is a day without it, the ESA deduction ends, so a fresh claim after a gap is not deducted. The deduction is also limited by the paragraph 7(2) cap where the rules on benefit scales have changed since you left.
2. How your police pension reduces New Style ESA
GOV.UK says New Style ESA is reduced if you get more than £85 a week from a private pension: half of the amount over £85 comes off your ESA. Regulation 67 of the ESA Regulations 2013 applies the same rule to any "pension payment", and section 3 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 defines a pension payment to include payments from a public service pension scheme connected with the end of an employment. A police ill-health pension fits that description. We could not confirm whether DWP also treats the injury pension as a pension payment for this rule.
3. Tax
GOV.UK lists contribution-based ESA as taxable. HMRC says injury benefit scheme payments can be tax-free. So where ESA is deducted from the injury pension, part of a tax-free income is replaced by a taxable one.
The ill-health pension of £9,406 a year is £180.31 a week. New Style ESA in the work-related activity group is £95.55 a week on GOV.UK. Half of (£180.31 − £85) is £47.65, so ESA would be about £47.90 a week, if DWP counts only the ill-health pension.
If that ESA runs continuously from retirement, it is then deducted from the weekly injury pension: £562.74 − £47.90 = £514.84. The total is unchanged before tax, but ESA is taxable and the injury pension is not.
If DWP also counted the injury pension as a pension payment, the reduction would be larger and ESA would probably be nil in this example. We do not know which approach DWP takes, so ask DWP to explain its calculation in writing.
ESA still matters for other reasons even when little or nothing is paid. GOV.UK says New Style ESA earns Class 1 National Insurance credits, which help towards the State Pension. Ask DWP or a welfare rights adviser whether a claim makes sense for you.
What is not deducted from the injury pension
Schedule 3 deducts only what it lists. We checked the list as amended. These are not on it:
- Universal Credit. Not listed. See below for how your injury pension affects it.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Not listed.
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Not listed.
- Attendance Allowance. Not listed.
- Carer's Allowance paid to someone who cares for you. Not listed, and it is their benefit, not yours.
- Income-related ESA. Paragraph 7(3)(d) refers only to the contribution-based or New Style element.
- The State Pension. Not listed.
- Child Benefit. Not listed.
- A later, separate ESA claim after retirement. Excluded by SI 2018/262.
Criminal injuries compensation and civil damages are not deducted from the injury pension under Schedule 3 either, though they can count against the separate total disablement gratuity under regulation 23. Our compensation routes guide covers those.
If your administrator is deducting something not on the paragraph 7 list, ask in writing which provision it relies on.
Universal Credit: how DWP counts a police injury pension
This is the question people most often cannot get a straight answer to. Here is what the rules and DWP's own guidance say.
- All unearned income comes off. Regulation 22 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 deducts "all of the claimant's unearned income" from the maximum award. The work allowance and the 55% taper apply only to earnings, not to pensions.
- Pensions are unearned income. Regulation 66 lists retirement pension income, and regulation 67 takes its meaning from section 16 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002. That includes income from an occupational pension scheme and any payment by a former employer on account of early retirement on grounds of ill health or disability.
- DWP names police injury pensions. The Advice for Decision Making, Chapter H5, says occupational pension income "should be taken fully into account" (H5010) and lists "Police and Fire-fighters' disablement or special widow's pension schemes" among the schemes included (H5012).
- IIDB and New Style ESA count too. Both are on the regulation 66 list.
So, on DWP's guidance, your ill-health pension and your injury pension both count in full, at their monthly amounts. Whether any Universal Credit is left depends on your maximum award: a standard allowance plus extra amounts for children, housing costs, a health condition and so on.
Suppose the example A officer lives with a partner who has no income, and they have two children born after 6 April 2017. GOV.UK's 2026/27 monthly amounts are £666.97 standard allowance for a couple where either is 25 or over, and £303.94 for each child. That gives a maximum of £1,274.85 a month before any housing or health amount.
Their pensions count in full: £783.83 ill-health pension plus £2,446.34 injury pension = £3,230.17 a month. That is more than the maximum, so no Universal Credit is payable unless the extra amounts close the gap. Even with the higher health amount of £429.80, eligible housing costs would need to be above about £1,525.52 a month before any Universal Credit was paid.
With the smaller band 1 award in example B, the two pensions come to £1,496.33 a month, still above the £1,274.85 maximum before housing and health amounts. Families on lower pensions, with higher rent or more children, may still get some Universal Credit. Use a benefits calculator or ask Citizens Advice; our figures are only an illustration and leave out rules such as the benefit cap and childcare costs.
PIP and DLA are not in the regulation 66 list of unearned income, so they do not reduce Universal Credit. GOV.UK says you keep getting PIP if you move onto Universal Credit.
Savings and the injury gratuity
GOV.UK says you must have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments to get Universal Credit. An injury gratuity is a lump sum, so it matters how DWP treats it. Regulation 75 disregards some compensation for personal injury, including a sum paid to you in the last 12 months. We found no DWP guidance saying whether a police injury gratuity counts as personal injury compensation for this purpose. Ask DWP or a welfare rights adviser before you plan around either answer.
State Pension age
Universal Credit is for people under State Pension age. GOV.UK says that if you live with a partner and one of you has reached State Pension age, you can still claim as a couple, and the claim stops when you both reach it.
PIP and DLA
PIP helps with extra costs if you have a long-term health condition or disability. It is assessed on how your condition affects daily living and mobility, not on income. GOV.UK says you can get PIP even if you are working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.
- PIP is not on the Schedule 3 paragraph 7 list, so it does not reduce your injury pension.
- Your injury pension does not reduce PIP.
- PIP is not counted as unearned income for Universal Credit.
- GOV.UK lists PIP and DLA as tax-free.
PIP decisions are separate from the SMP's decision. A band 1 injury award does not mean you will not get PIP, and a PIP award does not prove a higher degree of disablement. The tests are different. If you live in Scotland, GOV.UK's tax list names Adult Disability Payment, the Scottish disability benefit, as tax-free; we did not check its other rules.
Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
GOV.UK says IIDB affects Pension Credit and Housing Benefit and may affect Council Tax Reduction. For the injury pension itself:
- Pension Credit uses the same section 16 definition of retirement pension income that Universal Credit borrows. On that wording a police injury pension is likely to count, but we did not read DWP's Pension Credit guidance, so treat this as unconfirmed.
- Housing Benefit. We did not check its income rules for injury pensions. Ask your council.
- Council Tax Reduction. GOV.UK says IIDB may affect it and tells you to contact your local council, which is also the place to ask about your pensions.
Citizens Advice can run a full benefits check that looks at all of these together.
Older injuries: reduced earnings allowance and legacy benefits
If you were injured a long time ago, two older parts of the list may still apply to you.
- Reduced earnings allowance (REA). GOV.UK and Schedule 7 to the 1992 Act say REA is only available for accidents that happened, or diseases that started, before 1 October 1990. If you get REA for the duty injury, Schedule 3 deducts it in full (paragraph 7(3)(b)), or the part relating to the duty injury. Universal Credit counts it as unearned income (ADM H5071).
- Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. These were replaced by ESA for new claims. Where they were paid, Schedule 3 deducts them only until the first day after retirement that is not, or is treated as not, a day of incapacity for work (paragraph 7(3)(c)). After an incapacity benefit deduction ended, a later ESA claim is not deducted (paragraph 7(3)(e)).
- Unemployability supplement. Paragraph 7(3)(a)(i) deducts it as part of the industrial injuries benefit. Our deductions guide notes that, under the 1992 Act, it continues only for people who already had it before 6 April 1987.
If you have had an injury award for many years, it is worth asking the administrator for a list of the benefits it is deducting today, and checking whether any deduction should have ended.
If someone cares for you
GOV.UK's IIDB guide says your carer could get Carer's Allowance if you have substantial caring needs. Carer's Allowance is the carer's own benefit. It is not on the Schedule 3 list, so it does not reduce your injury pension. It is, however, counted as unearned income if your household claims Universal Credit (regulation 66(1)(b)(iii)), and GOV.UK lists it as taxable.
If you live with a partner and claim Universal Credit, the claim is a joint one, so their income and capital count as well as your pensions.
Tax on each payment
Tax matters when comparing totals, because pound-for-pound deductions can swap a tax-free payment for a taxable one. This is what GOV.UK and HMRC say:
| Payment | Tax |
|---|---|
| Police ill-health or ordinary pension | Taxable |
| Police injury pension | HMRC EIM75900: injury benefit scheme payments such as those for police "can be paid tax-free"; the registered scheme pension stays taxable |
| Injury gratuity (lump sum) | Not stated on the HMRC pages we read. Ask the administrator and HMRC |
| Industrial Injuries Benefit | Tax-free |
| Contribution-based or New Style ESA | Taxable |
| PIP, DLA, Universal Credit | Tax-free |
| State Pension | Taxable |
Our guide is a police injury pension tax-free? explains HMRC's position in more detail, including how tax codes handle a mix of taxable and tax-free income.
PTSD and IIDB: an open question
A psychological injury can found a police injury award: the Injury Benefit Regulations define injury to include any injury or disease of body or of mind. IIDB is a separate scheme with its own tests. GOV.UK describes it as covering illness or disability caused by an accident or event at work, or by a prescribed disease from a list of more than 70.
We have not verified how DWP decides IIDB claims for post-traumatic stress disorder, whether from a single incident or from cumulative exposure over years. We did not find PTSD among the prescribed diseases GOV.UK lists as examples, and we did not check the full list. If you are considering a claim for a psychological injury, speak to a welfare rights adviser first. If IIDB is awarded for the same injury as your police injury award, it is deducted as described above.
Our PTSD guide covers the police side: how psychological injury is assessed for an injury award and for ill-health retirement.
What to tell the force and DWP, and when
One avoidable problem is an overpayment found months later, which the administrator or DWP may then ask you to repay. Telling both sides promptly, in writing, reduces that risk.
| What happens | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You claim IIDB, ESA or another listed benefit | Tell the force pension administrator in writing when you claim, and send the award letter when it arrives | The deduction runs from the week you are entitled, so a late notice can create an overpayment to repay |
| DWP changes your IIDB assessment or rate | Send the new award letter | The weekly deduction should follow the new amount |
| Your ESA stops, or you start a fresh ESA claim after a gap | Tell the administrator and say which applies | SI 2018/262 says a second or later post-retirement ESA entitlement is not deducted |
| You claim Universal Credit | Declare the ill-health pension and the injury pension as other income on the claim | DWP guidance treats police disablement pensions as occupational pension income |
| Your injury pension changes after a review | Report the new amount to DWP if you get Universal Credit or another means-tested benefit | Universal Credit is reduced by all unearned income, so the change affects your award |
| You go into hospital because of the duty injury | Tell DWP (IIDB) and the administrator | Schedule 3 para 7(3)(a)(iii) deducts the hospital treatment increase while you are an in-patient |
Telling DWP
GOV.UK says IIDB claimants must report changes straight away, including if the condition improves or gets worse, and that you may have to repay money if you did not report a change or gave wrong information. Universal Credit and ESA have their own reporting duties. Declare your police pensions as income on any claim.
- Every DWP award letter, with start and end dates.
- A copy of each letter you send the pension administrator, and the date you sent it.
- Your latest injury award statement showing the guarantee, the deductions and the injury pension.
- Any letter from the administrator explaining which benefit it is deducting, and under which part of paragraph 7.
Questions to ask the administrator
- Which benefits are you deducting, under which sub-paragraph of Schedule 3 paragraph 7, and from what date?
- Is the IIDB for the same injury as my award? If it covers more than one accident, how did you find the duty injury part?
- Is the ESA you are deducting my first post-retirement entitlement, or a later claim that SI 2018/262 excludes?
- What police pension figure are you taking three-quarters of, before commutation?
If a deduction looks wrong, the reviews guide explains the difference between a benefit deduction and a change to your degree of disablement, and the routes to challenge each. Your Police Federation representative can help with either.
A typical order of events
Everyone's case runs differently, and the injury award can be decided at retirement or years later. This is simply the order in which the benefit questions tend to come up, with the rule that applies at each point.
- While you are still serving and off sick. Schedule 3 does not apply yet, because there is no injury pension. A different rule, regulation 31 of the Police Regulations 2003, reduces full sick pay by certain benefits. See our long-term sickness guide.
- You leave on an ill-health pension. The pension is taxable. If you claim New Style ESA, it may be reduced by half of your pension above £85 a week. If you claim Universal Credit, the pension counts in full.
- The injury award is decided. The injury pension is the guarantee less three-quarters of your police pension. From then on, any IIDB for the same injury and any ESA running continuously from retirement come off it, week by week. If the award is backdated, ask how the administrator has handled benefits you received during the backdated period.
- DWP decides IIDB. Send the award letter to the administrator. The deduction follows the IIDB rate each year (the Court of Appeal's decision in Evans).
- Your ESA ends, or you make a new claim. The ESA deduction stops at the first day without limited capability for work. A fresh claim later is not deducted.
- A review changes your degree of disablement. The guarantee changes, so the injury pension changes. Tell DWP if you get a means-tested benefit. A change in your benefits is not, by itself, a change in your degree of disablement.
- State Pension age. The State Pension is not deducted from the injury pension. Universal Credit ends once you and any partner have both reached State Pension age; Pension Credit may be the benefit to look at instead.
What people get wrong
- "All my benefits come off my injury pension." Only those listed in Schedule 3 paragraph 7. PIP, DLA, Universal Credit and the State Pension are not.
- "My injury pension does not count for Universal Credit because it is compensation." DWP's guidance names police disablement pension schemes as occupational pensions taken fully into account.
- "Claiming IIDB always leaves me better off." Not while your weekly injury pension is larger than the IIDB. Then IIDB just replaces part of it.
- "Claiming IIDB is pointless." Not always. If IIDB is larger than the weekly injury pension, the excess is extra income.
- "Any ESA is deducted." Only contribution-based or New Style ESA, and only until the first day after retirement without limited capability for work. A later fresh claim is not deducted.
- "A benefit deduction means my band has gone down." Deductions do not change your degree of disablement. Only a regulation 37 review does that.
- "The gratuity is reduced by my benefits." The Schedule 3 deductions apply to the injury pension only.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland has its own Police (Injury Benefit) (Scotland) Regulations 2007, and Northern Ireland has the PSNI and PSNI Reserve (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006. Both use the same Schedule 3 award table. We did not check whether the ESA amendments described here were made in the same way in those regulations, so this page applies to England and Wales. The DWP rules on Universal Credit apply across Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own equivalent benefits system.
Not verified / needs checking
- Injury pension and New Style ESA. Whether DWP counts the injury pension, as well as the ill-health pension, as a "pension payment" that reduces New Style ESA.
- The injury gratuity and Universal Credit capital. Whether the gratuity is disregarded as personal injury compensation under regulation 75, or counts towards the £16,000 limit.
- Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. We read the Universal Credit guidance only. The Pension Credit position follows the same statutory definition, but we did not read DWP's Pension Credit guidance.
- PTSD and IIDB. How DWP decides IIDB claims for psychological injury.
- Tax on the injury gratuity. HMRC EIM75900 covers pensions and does not say how the lump sum is taxed.
- Retirement Allowance. Listed as an industrial injuries benefit in the 1992 Act; we could not confirm how administrators apply paragraph 7 to it.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland. Whether the ESA amendments have equivalents.
- Your figures. Our examples hold pay constant and treat all service as 2015 scheme service. Officers with legacy service, or whose final pay differs, will get different numbers.
If any of these affects you, check with DWP, Citizens Advice or a welfare rights adviser, and with your Federation representative.
If you are not sure what is being deducted, write one short letter to your pension administrator asking for a breakdown: the guarantee, three-quarters of which pension, and which benefits under which part of paragraph 7. Then take that breakdown, and your DWP award letters, to your Federation representative or a welfare rights adviser. They can check it against this page in a few minutes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is PIP deducted from a police injury pension?
No. Personal Independence Payment is not one of the benefits listed in Schedule 3 paragraph 7 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, so it does not reduce the injury pension. GOV.UK also says you can get PIP even if you are working or have savings, and PIP is not on the list of unearned income that reduces Universal Credit.
Is Universal Credit deducted from a police injury pension?
No. Universal Credit is not listed in Schedule 3 paragraph 7. The effect runs the other way: DWP guidance (Advice for Decision Making H5010 and H5012) treats police disablement pensions as occupational pension income, and the Universal Credit Regulations deduct all unearned income from the maximum award, so your injury pension can reduce or remove your Universal Credit.
Does a police injury pension count as income for Universal Credit?
DWP's own decision makers' guide points to yes. ADM paragraph H5012 lists "Police and Fire-fighters' disablement or special widow's pension schemes" as occupational pension schemes, and H5010 says occupational pension income is taken fully into account. Regulation 22 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 deducts all unearned income. Check your own award with DWP or Citizens Advice.
Is Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit deducted from a police injury pension?
Yes, if it is paid for the same duty injury. Schedule 3 paragraph 7(3)(a) deducts it in full, week by week, or only the part relating to the duty injury if the assessment covers other accidents. The pension deduction never touches the gratuity, and if the deductions exceed the injury pension, nothing is paid as injury pension that week (paragraph 8).
How much is IIDB in 2026/27?
GOV.UK lists weekly rates from £46.78 at a 20% assessment to £233.90 at 100%, with £93.56 at 40% and £116.95 at 50%. You normally need to be assessed at 14% or more. The Scottish Government's 2026-27 up-rating table shows the same £233.90 figure for 2026-27.
Is ESA deducted from a police injury pension?
Contribution-based or New Style ESA can be. SI 2017/21 added it from 10 February 2017, and SI 2018/262, with effect back to the same date, limited the deduction to ESA running until the first day after retirement on which you no longer have (or are treated as having) limited capability for work. A second or later ESA entitlement after retirement is not deducted. Income-related ESA is not on the list.
Is the State Pension deducted from a police injury pension?
No. The State Pension is not listed in Schedule 3 paragraph 7. Reaching State Pension age is not, on its own, a reason to reduce an injury award; the reviews guide explains the Simpson and Crudace cases.
Is it worth claiming IIDB if it comes off my injury pension?
We cannot advise you, but the arithmetic is simple. While your weekly injury pension is bigger than the IIDB, every pound of IIDB comes off it, so your total does not change. If the IIDB is bigger than the weekly injury pension, the injury pension stops for that week and the excess IIDB is extra income. Both are tax-free. A welfare rights adviser can check your case.
Does a police ill-health pension reduce New Style ESA?
Yes, it can. Regulation 67 of the ESA Regulations 2013 reduces New Style ESA by half of pension payments above £85 a week (GOV.UK describes the same rule for private pensions), and section 3 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 includes public service pensions paid on leaving an employment. We could not confirm whether DWP also counts the injury pension for this rule.
Do I need to tell my force when I start getting a benefit?
Yes. The paragraph 7 deduction depends on what you are entitled to each week, so tell the pension administrator in writing when a listed benefit starts, changes or stops, and send copies of DWP award letters. Late notice can lead to an overpayment that the administrator may ask you to repay.
Does the injury gratuity count as savings for Universal Credit?
We could not confirm this. Universal Credit has a £16,000 capital limit. Regulation 75 of the Universal Credit Regulations disregards some personal injury compensation, including a sum paid in the last 12 months, but we found no DWP guidance saying whether a police injury gratuity falls within it. Ask DWP or a welfare rights adviser before you rely on either answer.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 7 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.
- Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3 (legislation.gov.uk, as made) — para 6 (three-quarters of police pension, commutation and pension debits ignored), para 7 (benefits list, weekly deduction, 7(2) cap, 7(4) DWP gratuity as annuity), para 8 (nil payment); reg 5(1) (52 1/6 weeks) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2017/21: Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Amendment) (Police Injury Benefit) Regulations 2017 — adds ESA under ss 1(2)(a) or 1B Welfare Reform Act 2007 to para 7(3) from 10 February 2017 (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2018/262: Police Injury Benefit (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2018 — ESA deducted only until the first day after retirement without limited capability for work; new para 7(3)(e); effect from 10 February 2017 (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Universal Credit Regulations 2013, regulation 22 — all unearned income is deducted from the maximum amount; work allowance and 55% taper apply to earnings only (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Universal Credit Regulations 2013, regulations 66 and 67 — unearned income includes retirement pension income, ESA and industrial injuries benefit (except ss 104 and 105 increases) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Universal Credit Regulations 2013, regulation 75 — personal injury compensation disregards; we did not confirm whether a police injury gratuity is covered (accessed 7 October 2026)
- State Pension Credit Act 2002, section 16 — retirement pension income includes occupational pensions (16(1)(f)) and payments by a former employer on early retirement for ill health or disability (16(1)(l)) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- DWP, Advice for Decision Making, Chapter H5: unearned income (PDF on GOV.UK) — H5010 occupational pensions taken fully into account; H5012 police and firefighters' disablement or special widow's pension schemes included; H5071 IIDB (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013, Part 9 (regulations 67 and 68) — New Style ESA reduced by 50% of pension payments above £85 a week; listed exclusions (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Welfare Reform Act 2007, section 3 — meaning of pension payment, including a public service pension scheme payment connected with the end of an employment (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 2 and Schedule 7 — employed earner includes an office with earnings; reduced earnings allowance only for accidents before 1 October 1990 (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Universal Credit, what you'll get — 2026/27 monthly amounts used in the illustration: couple standard allowance £666.97, each child £303.94, higher health amount £429.80 (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, what you'll get — weekly rates from £46.78 (20%) to £233.90 (100%); normally 14% or more (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Scottish Government: Social security assistance up-rating for inflation 2026-27 — confirms £233.90 as the 2026-27 standard IIDB rate (reserved benefit table) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: IIDB eligibility, effect on other benefits, how to claim, report a change — employed earners only; affects income-related ESA, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit; forms BI100A and BI100PD; Barnsley IIDB Centre (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Employment and Support Allowance, what you'll get — New Style ESA rates (£95.55 work-related activity group, £145.90 support group); private pension over £85 a week rule (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Personal Independence Payment — can be claimed while working or with savings (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Universal Credit eligibility — £16,000 savings limit; under State Pension age (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax-free and taxable state benefits — contribution-based ESA and State Pension taxable; Industrial Injuries Benefit, PIP, DLA and Universal Credit tax-free (accessed 7 October 2026)
- HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM75900 (injury benefit schemes, including police and firefighters) — payments from injury benefit schemes such as those for police "can be paid tax-free"; the registered scheme pension remains taxable (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Evans and Ashcroft v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2018] EWCA Civ 2107 (National Archives) — full weekly benefit deducted at current rates; as summarised in our deductions guide (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Regulations 2003, regulation 31 (deductions of social security benefits and SSP) — while serving, full sick pay is reduced by certain benefits (a different rule from Schedule 3) (accessed 7 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. This page is general information, not legal, medical or financial advice, and the outcome of any injury award or ill-health retirement decision turns on the medical evidence and the facts of the individual case. Decisions are made by the police pension authority, selected medical practitioners and appeal boards, and the regulations are amended from time to time. Speak to your Police Federation representative or a solicitor about your own case, and your pension administrator about your figures. If you are struggling, speak to your GP or one of the services listed on our support directory; if you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 7 October 2026.