Resigning does not cost you the pension you have built. It changes when each part is paid and a few months either side of a key date can change that by years. Every scheme, every age, with worked examples and a free calculator for your own figures.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 21 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
With at least 2 years' qualifying service you keep it all as a deferred pension, increased by CPI every April. Each part is paid at its own scheme's age: 2015 scheme service at your State Pension age (67 or 68 for most officers, not 60), 2006 scheme service at 65 and 1987 scheme service at 60, or 50 if you have 25 years. Leave at 55 or over and some or all of it can be paid straight away. Under 2 years you get a refund of your own contributions, less tax.
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See your own figures: what happens to your pension if you leave
Free calculator. Enter your date of birth, join date and pay. See each part of your pension, the age each is paid, your lump sums and what leaving now costs compared with a later date. Runs in your browser; nothing is stored.
Most officers leaving now have more than one scheme. Since 1 April 2022 everyone builds new pension in the 2015 scheme, so if you joined before April 2015 you probably have a 1987 or 2006 part as well, plus McCloud remedy service between 2015 and 2022. Each part follows its own rules. Read across the row for your schemes.
| 1987 scheme | 2006 scheme | 2015 scheme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do I keep it? | Yes, with 2 years' qualifying service | Yes, with 2 years' qualifying service | Yes, with 2 years' qualifying service |
| Under 2 years | Refund of contributions less tax | Refund (reg 34) | Refund less tax (reg 176) |
| Paid when, if I leave early | 60; or 50 if you have 25 years' service | 65 (reg 32(4)) | Your State Pension age, 67 or 68 for most officers (reg 91(2)) |
| Earlier with a reduction? | Not in the guidance we found | From 55, actuarially reduced (reg 33) | From 55, reduced from State Pension age (regs 91(4), 96) |
| Paid straight away if | 30 years at any age, 25 years at 50 or over, or at your rank's age limit (reg B1) | You are 55 or over when you leave (regs 17(2), 18, 27) | You are 55 or over when you leave: reduced before 60 (reg 90) |
| Lump sum | Commute up to a quarter when paid (reg B7(1)) | Automatic 4 times the pension (regs 28, 32(5)) | Commute at £12 per £1 when paid (reg 124) |
| Increases until paid | CPI each April | CPI each April | CPI only (the extra 1.25% stops) |
Resignations are now the most common way officers leave. Home Office figures for 2025/26 show 4,751 voluntary resignations in England and Wales, 51.4% of all officer leavers and 60.6% of those resigning had under 5 years' service. If that is you, the 2-year line and the State Pension age rule below are the two things that matter most.
Every police scheme has the same threshold. With at least 2 years' qualifying service you become a deferred member and keep a pension for life. With less, you do not get a pension: you get back the contributions you paid, with a tax charge taken off and the rights for that service end (2015 reg 176; 2006 reg 34; 1987 members' guide section 4.10).
A probationer on £32,000 pays 12.88% from 1 April 2026. After 18 months they have paid about £6,182. The short service refund charge is 20% of the first £20,000 (HMRC PTM045000), so the refund is about £4,946. Six months more would keep a pension for life instead. Our worked example below shows that trade in pounds.
Qualifying service counts police service across schemes and can include service transferred in, so check the figure on your benefit statement rather than counting from your start date. If you rejoin a force within 5 years after a refund you may be able to pay it back and restore the service within 6 months of rejoining (2015 reg 177).
Your annual benefit statement lists each scheme and your service in it. If you are not sure, our pension schemes explained guide walks through it.
This is where leaving differs from retiring. A deferred pension waits until its scheme's payment age. An immediate pension starts the day after your last day. The table shows what happens at different ages.
| You leave aged | 1987 part | 2006 part | 2015 part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 to 49, under 25 years' service | Deferred to 60 | Deferred to 65 (or 55 reduced) | Deferred to State Pension age (or 55 heavily reduced) |
| Any age, 25 to 29 years' service (1987) | Deferred to 50, or paid now if you are 50 or over | n/a | Deferred to State Pension age if under 55 |
| Any age, 30 years' service (1987) | Paid straight away | n/a | Deferred to State Pension age if under 55 |
| 50 to 54 | Paid now with 25 years; otherwise deferred to 60 (55 for constables and sergeants at the age limit) | Deferred to 65 (or 55 reduced) | Deferred to State Pension age (or 55 reduced) |
| 55 to 59 | Paid now at the 55 age limit for constables and sergeants, with 25 years at 50, or 30 years; inspectors and above under 25 years: deferred to 60 | Paid straight away | Paid straight away, reduced (about 20% less at 55, less each month to 60) |
| 60 or over | Paid straight away | Paid straight away | Paid straight away in full |
1987 scheme. The ordinary pension needs 25 years' pensionable service. With 25 to 29 years it is not paid before 50; with 30 years it is paid at any age (reg B1(5)). 2015 scheme service counts towards the 25 and 30 years (2015 regulations, Schedule 4 paragraph 37). Constables and sergeants who leave at 55, the age limit for those ranks, are paid straight away whatever their service. Otherwise a 1987 deferred pension is paid at 60 (reg B5(4)). The Home Office guide does not describe a way to take it early with a reduction.
2006 scheme. Leave at 55 or over and you are treated as retiring: pension and lump sum are paid straight away (regs 17(2), 18 and 27). Leave before 55 and you get a deferred pension and lump sum payable at 65 (reg 32(4) and (5)), or from 55 with an actuarial reduction if you give a month's notice (reg 33). The 2006 members' guide gives a rough guide of about 5% a year, so about 25% less at 60.
2015 scheme. Leave at 55 or over and you can claim straight away, reduced for each month before 60, or wait (reg 90). Leave before 55 and the pension is paid at your State Pension age (reg 91(2)). This catches more people out than anything else, so it has its own section next.
Ill health. All three schemes pay a deferred pension early, without the usual reduction, if you become permanently unable to do any regular employment (2015 reg 91(3), 2006 reg 32(4), 1987 reg B5(4)).
Normal pension age in the 2015 scheme is 60 and every officer knows that number. But section 10 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 sets a separate deferred pension age for people who leave: State Pension age, or 65 if that is higher. The 2015 regulations follow it. If you resign before 55, your 2015 pension is paid at your State Pension age.
Under current law State Pension age is 68 for anyone born after 5 April 1978 (aged 47 or under now), 67 for anyone born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977 and phased in between. The government reviews it, so it could change before you get there. Check yours on GOV.UK; our calculator works it out from your date of birth.
An officer who stays to 60 gets their 2015 pension at 60. The same officer resigning at 54 waits until 68: eight years of pension they would otherwise have had. Staying until 55 changes the rule, because from 55 you can claim straight away with the smaller "retiring member" reduction (about 20% at exactly 55 under GAD's factors in force from 1 August 2026).
2015 scheme. You can claim from 55 (reg 96, with at least a month's written notice). The reduction is measured from State Pension age, not from 60, so it is large. GAD's original 2015 factors for deferred members (Table B, 7 May 2015) paid 0.516 of the pension at 12 years early and 0.492 at 13 years early: claiming at 55 with a State Pension age of 68 meant giving up about half, for life. GAD has issued newer factors since; ask your administrator for a quote before deciding.
2006 scheme. From 55 with an actuarial reduction (reg 33). The members' guide suggests about 5% a year early as a rough guide. Both the pension and the 4 times lump sum are reduced.
1987 scheme. Paid at 60, or 50 with 25 years. We found no option to take it earlier with a reduction in the Home Office guide.
Tax age. The normal minimum pension age rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, but Finance Act 2022 section 10 keeps 55 for members of uniformed services schemes, including people who "are or were" police officers. On our reading that protects deferred police members too; HMRC has not said so in terms for deferred members, so confirm with your administrator if you plan to claim before 57.
You do not lose your lump sum by leaving. It comes when each part is paid.
GAD issued new 1987 commutation factors on 21 May 2026 after HM Treasury raised the SCAPE discount rate from CPI plus 1.7% to CPI plus 2.0%. The Police Federation (West Midlands) says the maximum lump sum is now roughly 2% to 4% lower for members commuting from that date, including McCloud members choosing 1987 benefits. The annual pension is not affected. Where the 2.25 times cap applies, the cap rather than the factor sets the lump sum, so the change may make no difference to you. The calculator shows your figure both ways.
Run through our calculator as at 21 October 2026, with pay growth of 2.5% and CPI of 2%. Invented officers, real rules, today's money, before tax.
Leave 21 November 2026, age 36 years 6 months, 8.2 years
Largest lump sums: £32,190 at 68 (2015 scheme).
Leave 21 November 2027, age 37 years 6 months, 9.2 years
Largest lump sums: £36,337 at 68 (2015 scheme).
Leaving now keeps £7,556 a year from age 68. One more year adds £973 a year for life. Neither date gives anything at 60.
Leave 21 November 2026, age 46 years 9 months, 23.5 years
Largest lump sums: £36,739 at 60 (1987 scheme); £19,265 at 68 (2015 scheme).
Leave 1 June 2028, age 48 years 4 months, 25 years
Largest lump sums: £37,015 at 50 (1987 scheme); £25,864 at 68 (2015 scheme).
Leaving at 23 and a half years, the 1987 pension waits to 60. Staying 1.5 years to 25 years' service (2015 years count) brings it forward to 50: ten years sooner and about £193,905 more paid by 85.
Leave 21 November 2026, age 51 years 9 months, 18.5 years
Largest lump sums: £24,218 at 65 (2006 scheme); £60,543 at 67 (2015 scheme).
Leave 1 February 2030, age 55, 21.7 years
Largest lump sums: £87,526 on leaving.
Leaving at 51 defers the 2006 pension to 65 and the 2015 pension to State Pension age. Staying to 55 means both are paid on the day you leave, with the 2006 lump sum.
Leave 21 November 2026, age 28 years 9 months, 1.5 years
Leave 1 June 2027, age 29 years 4 months, 2 years
Largest lump sums: £5,030 at 68 (2015 scheme).
Leaving now gives a refund of about £4,860. Six more months reaches the 2-year line and keeps £1,181 a year for life from State Pension age instead.
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How big is the pension you walk away with? These tables run invented officers through the calculator, leaving on 21 November 2026, with pay growth of 2.5% and CPI of 2%. Today's money, before tax, before any lump sum.
| Service | Deferred 2015 pension | Paid from | Largest lump sum when paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 years | £1,969 a year | Age 68 | £8,387 (giving up £699 a year) |
| 5.2 years | £4,713 a year | Age 68 | £20,078 (giving up £1,673 a year) |
| 8.2 years | £7,562 a year | Age 68 | £32,213 (giving up £2,684 a year) |
| 11.2 years | £10,518 a year | Age 68 | £44,808 (giving up £3,734 a year) |
Each year of 2015 scheme service adds about 1/55.3 of that year's pay, revalued while you serve. Leaving before 55 means waiting until State Pension age for all of it. Under 2 years there is nothing to keep.
| Service at leaving | 1987 part | 2015 part |
|---|---|---|
| 21.1 years, aged 42 years 10 months | £13,684 a year from age 60 | £4,348 a year from age 68 |
| 24.1 years, aged 45 years 10 months | £16,185 a year from age 60 | £4,348 a year from age 68 |
| 26.1 years, aged 47 years 10 months | £19,031 a year from age 50 | £4,348 a year from age 68 |
| 30.1 years, aged 51 years 10 months | £25,700 a year from leaving | £4,348 a year from age 67 |
The 1987 rows show the cliff edges. Below 25 years the 1987 part waits until 60. From 25 years it is paid from 50 and from 30 years it is paid when you leave. For these officers the McCloud years (April 2015 to March 2022) pay more as 1987 years, so they sit in the 1987 column; the 2015 part is service from April 2022 and waits until State Pension age if you leave before 55. Your own figures depend on your dates and pay: run them in the calculator.
Pension does not grow smoothly when you are thinking of leaving. It jumps at a few dates. If one is close, check what waiting would give you before you hand in notice.
Each extra year of service also adds pension: about 1/55.3 of a year's pay in the 2015 scheme. The free calculator lists your own milestone dates and lets you compare any of them with your planned date.
If you are in scope, your service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 was moved back into your legacy scheme on 1 October 2023 and you get a deferred choice: legacy or 2015 scheme benefits for that period, all one way. Deferred members keep the choice. It is made when your benefits are claimed and with no choice the default is legacy (Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, s.10; SI 2023/831 reg 12). No legacy benefits are paid until the choice is made or treated as made.
Leaving early makes the choice weigh more, because the two options are paid at different ages. As 1987 years, those 7 years are paid at 60 (or 50 with 25 years); as 2015 years, they wait for State Pension age. As a deferred member you can ask for a Remediable Service Statement, which the scheme must issue within 3 months, once every 12 months (PSPJOA 2022 s.29). See the McCloud remedy explained.
After you leave, a deferred pension is increased every April in line with CPI to the previous September, under the Pensions Increase legislation. That keeps its buying power roughly level, which is why our figures are shown in today's money. The April 2026 increase was 3.8% (Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2026). The ONS reported September 2026 CPI of 3.5% on 21 October 2026; that is the figure that normally sets the April 2027 increase, once the order is made.
What you lose is the 2015 scheme's in-service revaluation. While you serve, each year's slice of 2015 pension is revalued by CPI plus 1.25%. Once you leave it is CPI only. Your 1987 or 2006 pension also loses its link to future pay: it is based on your pay when you leave, not on what you would have earned after promotion.
Death-in-service cover stops on your last day. The lump sum death grant (3 times pay in the 2015 scheme, 3 times in the 2006 scheme and 2 times in the 1987 scheme) is for serving members only and the Home Office 2015 guide says in terms that deferred members do not get it.
Survivor pensions do continue. The members' guides say a spouse, civil partner or (in the 2015 scheme) nominated partner gets a pension of half the deferred pension in each scheme, reduced in the 2006 and 2015 schemes where the survivor is more than 12 years younger. The 1987 guide uses older "widow" wording; ask your administrator what applies to your partner. If someone relies on your income, price private life cover before you leave, while you are still in service and well.
Stop and get advice before you resign. Ill-health retirement is a decision about a serving officer, taken on a selected medical practitioner's report and asks whether you are permanently unable to perform the ordinary duties of a police officer. Once you have resigned, the only early route left is the stricter test of being permanently unable to do any regular employment. Speak to occupational health and your Federation rep first and read our ill-health retirement guide.
An injury award is different: regulation 11 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 covers a person who "ceases or has ceased" to be a member and is permanently disabled by an injury on duty. Leaving does not end that right, but keep your injury on duty records.
Not into a personal pension or SIPP. Since 6 April 2015 section 95 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 has not allowed transfers from unfunded public service schemes, which include the police schemes, to schemes offering flexible benefits. Anyone offering to "unlock" a police pension should be treated with suspicion.
Into another public service scheme, maybe. The police schemes are in the Public Sector Transfer Club. The 2015 members' guide says you have 12 months after joining a Club scheme to ask for a transfer. If you are moving to the NHS, civil service, teaching or local government, ask both schemes about a Club transfer early. Transfers are hard to reverse, so get the figures in writing and, for anything other than a straightforward Club transfer, regulated advice.
Rejoin the 2015 scheme within 5 years and your deferred account is closed as if it had never been set up and the gap counts as service with no pay (reg 67), so your pension carries on revaluing as an active member's. After a gap of more than 5 years your earlier pension stays deferred and, for legacy service, the final salary link ends where the gap began (Schedule 4 paragraph 4; 2015 members' guide 3.4). See the retire and rejoin guide.
A dismissal or a misconduct finding does not take away pension you have built up. The same deferred or immediate pension rules apply. Forfeiture needs a criminal conviction: for an offence connected with police service, a Home Secretary's certificate as well (2015 reg 211). If a conduct matter is open, read resigning during a misconduct investigation and what happens to your pension if dismissed.
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| Ask for | From | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A leaver estimate at your planned last day, by scheme | Pension administrator | Shows the deferred figures and payment ages they will actually use |
| Your qualifying and pensionable service to date | Pension administrator | Decides the 2-year line and the 1987 25 and 30 year dates |
| A Remediable Service Statement | Pension administrator | Your McCloud years both ways; deferred members can request one (one request every 12 months) |
| An early payment quote at 55 for any deferred 2006 or 2015 part | Pension administrator | The reductions come from GAD tables that change |
| A transfer value (statement of entitlement), only if you are joining another public service scheme | Pension administrator | Club transfers have time limits |
| Confirmation of the refund and the tax deducted, if under 2 years | Pension administrator | Refunds are taxed at 20% on the first £20,000 |
| Your leave, TOIL and final pay position | HR and payroll | Final pay is a separate calculation from the pension |
For a fuller picture, the paid Police Pension Exit Report sets out resigning now against staying to 55, 60 and 65, with lump sums, lifetime totals and what each extra year is worth. MoneyHelper gives free, impartial pensions guidance. For a transfer or any complex decision, use an FCA-authorised adviser.
Our calculators show the numbers, but some decisions (when to go, how much lump sum to take, your McCloud choice, a tax charge) are worth talking through with a regulated adviser. Tell us where you are and Andrew, who runs PolicePay, will reply by email.
With 2 years' qualifying service you keep it as a deferred pension, increased by CPI each year. Each part is paid at its own age: 2015 scheme service at your State Pension age, 2006 scheme service at 65 and 1987 scheme service at 60, or 50 with 25 years' service. Under 2 years you get your contributions back, less tax.
No. Resigning does not reduce what you have built up. What changes is when it is paid. Only a criminal conviction connected with your service, followed by a formal forfeiture process, can take it away.
1987 scheme: 60, or 50 if you left with 25 or more years' service. 2006 scheme: 65, or from 55 with an actuarial reduction. 2015 scheme: your State Pension age, or from 55 with a reduction measured from State Pension age. All three can be paid early if you become permanently unable to do any regular employment.
No. Normal pension age 60 only applies if you retire from the force. A deferred 2015 pension is paid at your State Pension age (Police Pensions Regulations 2015, reg 91). That is 68 for anyone born after 5 April 1978 under current law.
In the 2015 scheme each year adds 1/55.3 of that year's pensionable pay. On £48,000 that is about £868 a year of pension per year served, so 5 years is roughly £4,340 a year in today's money, paid from State Pension age. Use the free calculator for your own figure.
Only if you leave with less than 2 years' qualifying service. You get your own contributions back with the short service refund charge deducted: 20% on the first £20,000 and 50% above. With 2 years or more you get a deferred pension and cannot choose a refund.
With 25 years' pensionable service (2015 scheme service counts towards it) you are entitled to the ordinary pension. If you are 50 or over it is paid when you go. If you are under 50 it is preserved and paid from 50. With 30 years it is paid at any age.
Yes, when each part is paid. The 2006 scheme pays an automatic lump sum of 4 times the pension with the deferred pension. A 1987 deferred pension can be commuted when it starts (reg B7). A deferred 2015 pension can be commuted when it is paid, at £12 for each £1 a year given up.
You keep it. Deferred members choose legacy or 2015 scheme benefits for their 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 service when their benefits are claimed and the default is legacy (Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, s.10). Leaving early can make the choice matter more because the two options are paid at different ages.
Yes, in line with CPI each April under the Pensions Increase legislation. The April 2026 increase was 3.8%. The ONS reported September 2026 CPI of 3.5% on 21 October 2026, the figure that normally sets the April 2027 increase. The 2015 scheme's extra 1.25% a year stops when you leave.
Not into a personal pension or SIPP to draw flexibly: since April 2015 that is not allowed from unfunded public service schemes. You may be able to transfer to another public service scheme through the Public Sector Transfer Club, usually within 12 months of joining it.
In the 2015 scheme, if you rejoin within 5 years your deferred account is closed and your service is treated as continuous (reg 67). After a gap of more than 5 years your old pension stays deferred and the final salary link for legacy service ends where the gap began.
Not the amount you have built up. Dismissal and resignation both leave a deferred or immediate pension on the same rules. Forfeiture needs a criminal conviction and, for most offences, a Home Secretary's certificate. See our guide to the pension if dismissed.
The Home Office members' guides say a spouse or partner gets a pension of half the deferred pension in each scheme, with reductions where the partner is much younger in the 2006 and 2015 schemes. The lump sum death grant is for serving members only, so it is lost when you leave.
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 21 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.
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. This page is general information, not financial, pension, tax, employment-law or careers advice and it cannot consider your personal circumstances. Pension decisions can be hard to reverse: ask your pension administrator for a statement and, where the amounts are large, an FCA-authorised adviser. Rules and figures change, so check the sources for the date you are reading this. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 21 October 2026.