Police Pension
Annual Allowance 2026
How the £60,000 annual allowance applies to the 1987, 2006 and 2015 police schemes: how your pension growth is measured, why promotion is the usual trigger, the 6 October pension savings statement deadline, McCloud remediable statements, carry forward, and paying a charge yourself or through Scheme Pays. England and Wales, checked against HMRC's manual, the legislation and the police schemes' own guidance on 1 October 2026.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 1 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Only if your pension growth in a tax year is over £60,000 and carry forward from the previous three years does not cover the excess. The usual trigger is a big pay rise, often promotion, with 1987 or 2006 service, which stays linked to your pay; the Police Federation says it mainly affects inspectors and above. Statements for 2025/26 are due by 6 October 2026.
Pension savings statements for the 2025/26 tax year are due by Tuesday 6 October 2026. The annual allowance for the current year, 2026/27, is £60,000. The Budget is on 28 October 2026 (HM Treasury). This page makes no prediction about it and will be updated if the rules change.
The annual allowance in 2025/26 and 2026/27
The annual allowance is an HMRC limit, not a police pension rule. It caps how much the value of all your registered pensions can grow in a tax year (6 April to 5 April) with tax relief. If your growth is higher, the excess is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate: this is the annual allowance charge (PTM051100). It is not a limit on what the scheme can give you, and going over it does not stop your pension building up.
Section 228(1) of the Finance Act 2004 says the annual allowance "for the tax year 2023-24 and ... each subsequent tax year is £60,000", unless the Treasury changes it by order. GOV.UK gives £60,000 for the current year, and the NPCC's police pension website gives £60,000 for 2026/27.
| Tax year | Standard annual allowance | CPI uplift on opening value | Taper applies if | Minimum tapered allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | £40,000 | 3.1% | Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £240,000 | £4,000 |
| 2023/24 | £60,000 | 10.1% | Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000 | £10,000 |
| 2024/25 | £60,000 | 6.7% | Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000 | £10,000 |
| 2025/26 | £60,000 | 1.7% | Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000 | £10,000 |
| 2026/27 (current) | £60,000 | 3.8% | Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000 | £10,000 |
The CPI column matters for police officers more than for most people: it is the inflation allowance HMRC gives your existing pension before measuring growth. It is the 12-month CPI rate to the September before the tax year, so for 2025/26 it was the September 2024 rate of 1.7%, and for 2026/27 it is the September 2025 rate of 3.8% (ONS). A low uplift means more of any pay rise counts as growth.
Two other limits rarely matter for serving officers. The money purchase annual allowance (£10,000) applies only to defined contribution savings after you have flexibly accessed a defined contribution pot, for example from a second career. The tapered annual allowance applies only where threshold income is over £200,000; see the taper. The lifetime allowance was abolished from 6 April 2024; the tax-free lump sum limit that replaced it is covered in our lump sum tax guide.
How police pension growth is measured
For a defined benefit pension such as the police schemes, your "pension input amount" (PIA) is not what you pay in. It is the increase in the value HMRC puts on your promised benefits over the tax year (PTM053301):
- Opening value. Your pension built up by the start of the year, times 16, plus any separate lump sum you get without giving up pension. Then increase it by CPI to the previous September.
- Closing value. Your pension at the end of the year, times 16, plus any separate lump sum. No CPI increase.
- Pension input amount. Closing value minus opening value. If the answer is negative, the input is nil.
Each scheme you are in is valued separately, and the inputs from all your registered pensions are added together and compared with your annual allowance.
| 1987 scheme (legacy) | 2006 scheme (legacy) | 2015 scheme (CARE) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the pension is worked out | A fraction of average pensionable pay (the pay for the year ending with the relevant date, reg G1) | 1/70th of final pensionable pay a year, plus a lump sum of 4/70ths a year (reg 28) | 1/55.3 of each year's pensionable earnings, revalued each year |
| Still building up new years? | No. Remaining members moved to the 2015 scheme from 1 April 2022 | No. Same | Yes, for all serving officers |
| Still linked to your current pay? | Yes: the final salary link stays while you serve | Yes: the final salary link stays while you serve | No: each year's pension is revalued by the regulation's index, not by your pay |
| Value HMRC puts on each extra £1 a year of pension | £16 (the lump sum is only by commutation, so it is not counted separately) | £20 (£16 for the pension plus £4 for the automatic lump sum) | £16 (lump sum only by exchanging pension) |
| What usually drives growth | Pay rises above CPI, above all promotion | Pay rises above CPI, above all promotion | New accrual each year plus revaluation above CPI |
Three police-specific points follow from HMRC's rules:
- Legacy service still grows with your pay. Everyone still serving was in the 2015 scheme by 1 April 2022 at the latest (NPCC), but 1987 and 2006 pensions stay linked to final pay while you serve. HMRC says that where benefits are "still linked to their final salary", you are not a deferred member and the growth counts, with the CPI uplift applied (PTM051200). So a pay rise larger than the CPI uplift adds to your legacy input, even though you are not building up new legacy years.
- The 2006 lump sum counts; 1987 and 2015 commutation does not. The 2006 scheme pays a lump sum of four times the pension automatically, so HMRC adds it in. A 1987 or 2015 lump sum comes from giving up pension, so it is not counted separately. The NPCC's police pension website says the same.
- A falling legacy value can cancel some 2015 growth. From 6 April 2023, where you have rights in a legacy public service scheme and its reformed scheme, the reformed scheme's input is reduced (not below nil) by any amount by which the legacy opening value exceeds its closing value (PTM053301). In a year when your pay rises by less than the CPI uplift, the legacy shortfall reduces your 2015 figure.
HMRC also warns that the result "depends on the precise wording" of the scheme's accrual rules (PTM053310). The 1987 scheme's faster accrual after 20 years is an example of the kind of rule that can matter. Your administrator applies the actual rules; the examples below are simplified.
Why promotion is the usual trigger
HMRC's own rule of thumb is that "large pay increases can create large pension input amounts, particularly when combined with long pensionable service" (PTM051100). For police officers that describes promotion with legacy service almost exactly: the whole legacy pension is re-based on the new pay at once.
The Police Federation's October 2024 newsletter put it more bluntly: the annual allowance "basically ... affects inspectors and above". That matches the arithmetic. A constable or sergeant moving up pay points, with pay awards near inflation, usually produces modest inputs. A promotion that lifts pensionable pay by 10% or more, applied to a legacy pension of a third to two-thirds of pay, can produce a large one-off input.
The table shows the input from the legacy part alone, for a pay rise during 2026/27 starting from £56,000, with HMRC's 3.8% CPI uplift. The 2015 scheme input comes on top.
| Pay rise in the year | 1987 scheme, pension 20/60 of pay | 1987 scheme, 30/60 | 1987 scheme, 40/60 | 2006 scheme, 20/70 (with lump sum) | 2006 scheme, 30/70 (with lump sum) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% (to £58,800) | £3,584 | £5,376 | £7,168 | £3,840 | £5,760 |
| 10% (to £61,600) | £18,517 | £27,776 | £37,035 | £19,840 | £29,760 |
| 15% (to £64,400) | £33,451 | £50,176 | £66,901 | £35,840 | £53,760 |
| 20% (to £67,200) | £48,384 | £72,576 | £96,768 | £51,840 | £77,760 |
Read across a row and the pattern is clear: the bigger the legacy pension relative to pay, and the bigger the pay rise above CPI, the bigger the input. The 2006 columns are higher for the same pension because the automatic lump sum adds £4 of value for every £1 of pension. Pay rises at or below the CPI uplift give no legacy input at all.
Timing also matters. The 1987 scheme uses pay for the year ending with the relevant date (reg G1), so a promotion part-way through a tax year can spread the effect over two years. HMRC says a backdated pay rise counts in the year it is awarded, not the year it relates to (PTM053800). For the wider pension effect of promotion, see how promotion affects your police pension.
Illustrative example: a promotion year and an ordinary year
Assumptions: the administrator values the 1987 pension at 30/60ths of pensionable pay; the pay used rises from £56,000 at the start of the year to £66,000 at the end (roughly the step from the top of the sergeant scale to the inspector scale, with the September 2026 award); the 2015 scheme pension is £4,000 at the start; pensionable earnings in the year are £64,000. Simplification: the 2015 revaluation is taken as the same 3.8% plus 1.25%.
1987 part. Opening pension £28,000, plus 3.8% CPI uplift = £29,064. Closing pension £33,000. Difference £3,936 x 16 = £62,976.
2015 part. New pension for the year £64,000 / 55.3 = £1,157. Closing pension £4,000 x 1.0505 + £1,157 = £5,359. Opening with CPI uplift £4,152. Difference x 16 = £19,317.
Total input £82,293, which is £22,293 over the £60,000 allowance. The 1987 part alone is over £60,000, so that scheme must send a statement.
Carry forward. If the officer's inputs were £14,000 in 2023/24, £16,000 in 2024/25 and £18,000 in 2025/26, unused allowance is £132,000, making £192,000 available. The excess is covered by £22,293 from 2023/24, the earliest year. No charge.
Without carry forward, and if all of the excess fell in the 40% band, the charge would be about £8,917. That is over £2,000, so mandatory Scheme Pays would be available.
No promotion; pay rises 3.5% to £57,960, below the 3.8% uplift; pensionable earnings £57,000. The 1987 closing pension (£28,980) is below the uplifted opening pension (£29,064), so the 1987 input is nil, and the shortfall of £1,344 reduces the 2015 input from £17,292 to £15,948. Total input £15,948: well under £60,000.
Every number above is calculated from the rules on this page with stated, simplified assumptions. Your statement will differ: the 1987 accrual basis, the timing of pay changes and the 2015 revaluation timing are all applied exactly by the administrator.
The inputs above are driven by two things: how big your legacy pension is compared with your pay, and how much 2015 pension you have built. Our free police pension calculator estimates both from your scheme, service and pay, and the McCloud remedy calculator compares legacy and 2015 remedy period benefits. Neither produces a pension savings statement; see what our calculators do and do not show.
Why most 2015-only members do not get near the limit
If all your service is in the 2015 scheme, your input each year is roughly the new pension you build up plus the revaluation above CPI on what you already have, times 16. Pay rises do not re-base earlier years. On the same simplification as above:
| Pay point (2026/27) | Pensionable pay | New pension built up in a year (pay / 55.3) | PIA with £5,000 already built up | PIA with £20,000 already built up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constable, top point | £52,015 | £941 | £16,050 | £19,050 |
| Sergeant, top point | £58,175 | £1,052 | £17,832 | £20,832 |
| Inspector (outside London), top point | £71,396 | £1,291 | £21,657 | £24,657 |
| Chief inspector (outside London), top point | £75,709 | £1,369 | £22,905 | £25,905 |
| Superintendent, top point | £102,481 | £1,853 | £30,651 | £33,651 |
| Chief superintendent, top point | £119,837 | £2,167 | £35,673 | £38,673 |
On this arithmetic, with £20,000 already built up, pensionable pay would need to be about £193,550 for the 2015 scheme alone to reach £60,000. The 2015 scheme can still contribute to a breach when added to a legacy input, or if you buy added pension (which counts as pension growth), or have other pensions. The revaluation above CPI in a particular tax year can also differ from 1.25%, because the scheme year starts on 1 April and the regulation's price index and HMRC's September CPI are not measured at the same point; the administrator does the exact calculation.
Pension savings statements: who gets one and when
Under regulation 14A of the Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) Regulations 2006, the administrator must send you a pension savings statement automatically if your input in that scheme for the year is more than the standard annual allowance (£60,000, ignoring any taper). The deadline is 6 October following the end of the tax year, so 6 October 2026 for 2025/26 and 6 October 2027 for 2026/27 (PTM167100).
A standard statement must show (PTM167200):
- your total input in the scheme for the tax year, and the annual allowance for that year;
- your input in the scheme for each of the previous three tax years, and the allowance for each, which is what you need for carry forward.
If you do not get one automatically, you can ask in writing for the same information, whether or not you are over the limit. The administrator must provide it by the later of 3 months from your request and 6 October after the tax year (PTM167300). Ask if you have more than one pension, if you might be tapered, or if your legacy and 2015 inputs together might be near £60,000.
| Date | What happens (2025/26 tax year) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 | The tax year, which is also the pension input period | FA 2004; PTM051100 |
| By 6 July 2026 | Your force (as employer) must give the administrator the pay information needed to calculate pension input amounts | SI 2006/567 reg 15A; PTM167400 |
| By 5 October 2026 | Tell HMRC you need a tax return if you have never filed one, or did not need one for 2024/25 | GOV.UK Self Assessment deadlines |
| By Tuesday 6 October 2026 | Administrator must send a pension savings statement if your input in the scheme was over £60,000 | SI 2006/567 reg 14A(4); PTM167100 |
| 31 October 2026 | Paper tax return deadline | GOV.UK |
| 31 January 2027 | Online tax return deadline, and the date any charge you pay yourself is due | GOV.UK; PTM056430 |
| 31 July 2027 | Last date to give a mandatory Scheme Pays notice for 2025/26 (earlier if you retire first) | FA 2004 s.237BA; PTM056430, PTM056450 |
| Set by the scheme manager | Deadline for a voluntary Scheme Pays request under the police regulations | PPR 2015 reg 222A(3); 2006 reg 85A; 1987 Part O |
Why statements can be late. The administrator depends on your force for pay data, due by 6 July (reg 15A). If the force is late, the statement deadline moves to 3 months after the data arrives; the same applies where later data or a scheme rule change alters the figure (reg 14A(6) to (6C)). An administrator that misses a deadline or gives wrong information can be penalised (Taxes Management Act 1970 s.98; PTM167100). The NPCC site says you will get a statement "by 6 October each year" if your administrator calculates you have exceeded the allowance; the Police Federation reported in October 2024 that the rollout of statements "has not gone well".
The 2015 regulations add a police-specific duty: if your 2015 scheme input exceeds the annual allowance, the scheme manager must give you, by 31 July after the tax year, any information it considers appropriate to help you arrange payment of the charge (PPR 2015 reg 221).
McCloud: rollback and remediable pension savings statements
The police schemes are "Chapter 1" schemes under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022. From 1 October 2023, service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 for eligible members was rolled back into the legacy scheme, and members choose legacy or 2015 benefits for that period when they retire. Our McCloud remedy guide covers the choice itself.
For the annual allowance, HMRC's guidance (updated 6 May 2025) says:
- If you had not taken benefits by 1 October 2023 and were in the 2015 scheme before April 2022, your inputs for the remedy period are recalculated as if you were in the legacy scheme. Your later choice "will not change your pension input amounts for the remedy period"; the input for the year you take benefits changes only if you choose 2015 benefits and that input is lower.
- If you had already retired (an immediate choice member), your inputs change only if you choose legacy benefits (if you were in the 2015 scheme) or, if you were not, only if you choose 2015 benefits and the input is lower.
- Which years can change. New or increased charges can arise only for 2019/20 to 2022/23 (the "in scope" years). Reduced charges and refunds or compensation can apply to all years from 2015/16. The NPCC site and LPPA give the same split.
Where inputs changed, administrators had to send a remediable (or remedy) pension savings statement (RPSS). For active and deferred members the statutory "rectification deadline" was 6 October 2024 (SI 2023/113). You then use HMRC's online service, Calculate your public service pension adjustment, with your RPSS, taxable income and personal allowances for each year from 2015/16 to 2022/23. Changes are reported through that service, not your Self Assessment return.
HMRC's guidance says charges or changes to charges must be reported by 31 January 2025 for Chapter 1 members who had not started a pension before 1 October 2023, and by 31 January 2027 for those who were pensioners (or the personal representatives of a member who died) before that date. Claims for overpaid tax the member paid run to 31 January 2029 and 31 January 2031 respectively.
The Scheme Pays election deadline for remedy charges was 6 July 2025 for active and deferred members. The Public Service Pension Schemes (Rectification of Unlawful Discrimination) (Tax) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/673, in force 14 July 2026) extended it to 6 July 2027, the same as for pensioners. After that, a request becomes voluntary Scheme Pays, and you stay solely liable. You can now make the election through HMRC's service, which passes it to the scheme.
If your RPSS arrived late, or not at all, and a deadline has passed or is close, ask HMRC and your administrator in writing how it applies to you. We could not find published HMRC guidance for living members whose statements were late.
The Police Federation says tax and financial advice needed because of the remedy can be claimed back from forces through the compensation process, and suggests speaking to your force before spending money on advice.
Carry forward: why going over £60,000 often costs nothing
Going over the allowance does not automatically mean a charge. You can add any allowance you did not use in the previous three tax years (PTM055100). The rules:
- You use the current year's allowance first, then unused allowance from the earliest of the three years, then the next.
- You must have been a member of a registered pension scheme at some point in each earlier year. Serving officers in the police schemes are.
- Unused allowance is that year's allowance minus that year's total input (from all pensions). If the taper applied in an earlier year, the tapered figure is used.
- For 2025/26 the earlier years are 2022/23 (allowance £40,000), 2023/24 and 2024/25 (£60,000 each). For 2026/27 they are 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, all £60,000.
- You do not report carry forward to HMRC if it removes the charge (GOV.UK).
This is why a one-off promotion spike often produces a statement but no tax: the statement itself lists the scheme's inputs for the three previous years so you can do the sum. HMRC's unused annual allowance calculator does the arithmetic. Remember to include any other pensions, such as AVCs, a pension from previous employment or a personal pension.
Paying a charge: Self Assessment or Scheme Pays
You are always personally liable for an annual allowance charge (FA 2004 s.237A). You report it on a Self Assessment return, in the "pension savings tax charges" section, even if a scheme pays it (PTM056200). The rate is your marginal rate: the excess is added to your taxable income. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the bands for both 2025/26 and 2026/27 are 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above (HMRC). Scottish taxpayers use Scottish rates.
| Pay it yourself | Mandatory Scheme Pays | Voluntary Scheme Pays (police schemes) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When you can use it | Always | Your charge for the year is over £2,000 and your input in that scheme is over £60,000 (taper ignored) | Your input across all police schemes is over the annual allowance that applies to you, the charge is over £1,000, and mandatory Scheme Pays does not apply |
| Legal basis | FA 2004 s.237A; Self Assessment | FA 2004 s.237B; SI 2011/1793 | PPR 2015 reg 222A; PPR 2006 reg 85A; PPR 1987 Part O (all inserted by SI 2018/997) |
| Deadline | Report and pay by 31 January after the tax year ends (31 January 2027 for 2025/26) | Notice by 31 July of the following year (31 July 2027 for 2025/26), or before you take all your benefits if sooner | A date the scheme manager may fix |
| Who is liable to HMRC | You | You and the scheme, jointly | You remain liable |
| Effect on your pension | None | Permanent reduction, worked out actuarially | Permanent reduction, just and reasonable on actuarial principles |
| Still need a tax return? | Yes | Yes: the charge goes on your return even though the scheme pays | Yes |
Mandatory Scheme Pays (FA 2004 s.237B): the scheme must pay if your charge for the year is over £2,000 and your input in that scheme is over £60,000. The amount you can make it pay is limited to the charge on the part of that scheme's input above £60,000 (PTM056410). Your notice must be in writing, signed and dated, and "cannot be revoked or withdrawn", though it can be amended if the charge changes (PTM056420).
Voluntary Scheme Pays under the police regulations: since 2018 all three schemes let a member ask the scheme manager to pay where mandatory Scheme Pays does not apply, the input "in relation to all police pension schemes" exceeds the annual allowance applicable to the member, and the charge is over £1,000 (PPR 2015 reg 222A; 2006 reg 85A; 1987 Part O). The scheme manager may set a deadline. This can help where the 1987 or 2006 and 2015 inputs are each under £60,000 but together over it, or where you are tapered. HMRC notes that with voluntary Scheme Pays the liability stays with you and must be met by the normal Self Assessment deadline (PTM056410). LPPA, one police administrator, quotes a £1,000 threshold for police members in its Scheme Pays section; in the legislation, £1,000 is the voluntary threshold and £2,000 the mandatory one.
The cost of Scheme Pays is a permanent reduction to your pension, worked out on actuarial principles and applied to benefits for that tax year (PPR 2015 reg 222). Whether to pay from savings or through the scheme is a personal financial decision. Your administrator can show you the reduction; an FCA-authorised adviser can help you weigh it.
If you are retiring, leaving on ill health, or die in service
- Retiring. The 31 July Scheme Pays deadline is brought forward if you will become entitled to all your benefits from that scheme first: you must give notice before you become entitled, usually with an estimated amount, and can amend it later (PTM056450). LPPA tells members retiring or transferring out to give notice "as soon as possible (and before the event has passed)". Raise it early in your last year before retirement.
- Severe ill health. There is no input for a scheme in the tax year you become entitled to all your benefits because you are unlikely to be able to do any significant paid work up to State Pension age (PTM051200). Whether a particular police ill-health award meets that test depends on the facts; ask your administrator. See ill-health retirement.
- Death. There is no annual allowance charge for the tax year in which someone dies, but charges for earlier years remain payable (PTM051200).
- Transfers and divorce. Transfers in and out and pension sharing debits or credits are adjusted out of the calculation (PTM053301). See transferring into or out of the police pension.
The tapered annual allowance: chief officers and very high earners
For 2023/24 onwards the allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £260,000, to a minimum of £10,000, but only if threshold income is also over £200,000 (PTM057100). If threshold income is not over £200,000, the taper cannot apply.
- Threshold income is broadly your net income for tax purposes, plus employment income given up under salary sacrifice arrangements made after 8 July 2015, less pension contributions paid under relief at source (gross amount).
- Adjusted income is broadly net income plus contributions deducted under net pay, plus your total pension input amounts minus your own contributions.
On our 2026/27 pay data no federated or superintending rank comes near £200,000; the taper matters only for some chief officers, or officers with large other income. Administrators send statements based on the standard £60,000, so a tapered member must check their own position. Voluntary Scheme Pays under the police regulations is the usual route if your input is under £60,000 but over your tapered allowance.
Step by step: if you get a statement, or think you should
- Check the dates. 2025/26 statements are due by 6 October 2026. If you were promoted, had a large pay rise, or bought added pension, and nothing arrives, ask in writing.
- Check the figures. Compare the pay used with your payslips, and ask for the legacy and 2015 figures separately. Query anything that looks wrong straight away.
- Add your other pensions. AVCs, a pension from previous work, a personal pension: all count towards the same allowance.
- Work out carry forward. Use the three previous years shown on the statement, plus any other pensions, in HMRC's calculator. Earliest year first.
- If there is no charge, keep the statement with your tax records. There is nothing to report for that year.
- If there is a charge, register for Self Assessment if you need to (5 October deadline for 2025/26), and include it on the return by 31 January 2027.
- Decide how to pay. Pay it yourself, or give a Scheme Pays notice (mandatory by 31 July 2027; voluntary by the date your scheme sets). If you are retiring before then, give notice before you retire.
- If the figures are not ready by 31 January, HMRC says to use an estimate, tick the box for estimated figures, explain in "any other information", and amend within 12 months of the filing date, paying any extra tax with interest (PTM056200).
- For remedy years, use your RPSS with HMRC's public service pension adjustment service, not your tax return.
What our calculators do and do not show
We want to be clear about this, because a tool that looks precise can be mistaken for a statement.
- None of our tools produces a pension savings statement or a pension input amount you can put on a tax return, and none works out an annual allowance tax charge. Only your administrator's statement does the first two; the charge depends on your whole tax position.
- The police pension calculator estimates your pension by scheme, service and pay. It also shows a rough annual allowance risk label (low, medium or high) built on simplified assumptions. That label does not follow HMRC's full method: it does not apply the CPI uplift to the opening value, and it does not value the legacy and 2015 parts separately as described above. Treat it as a prompt to ask your administrator, not as a figure.
- The McCloud remedy calculator compares legacy and 2015 benefits for the remedy period. It does not calculate remedy pension input amounts; your RPSS does.
The worked examples on this page show the method so you can check the statement you receive. For promotion pay itself, see the promotion pay calculator and the salary calculator.
What people get wrong about the annual allowance
What to ask, and who to ask
| Ask | Who | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A pension savings statement for each of the last four tax years, if you have not had one | Your pension administrator, in writing | You can ask even if one was not sent automatically; it must arrive by the later of 3 months and 6 October (PTM167300) |
| Separate figures for your legacy (1987 or 2006) and 2015 scheme inputs | Pension administrator | The legacy and 2015 parts behave differently, and from 2023/24 a fall in the legacy value can reduce the 2015 figure |
| Whether any remediable pension savings statement (RPSS) is due or revised | Pension administrator | McCloud rollback changed inputs for 2015/16 to 2022/23 |
| The pay data your force sent, and when | Force pensions or payroll team | A late or wrong pay file is a common reason for late or wrong statements |
| How their Scheme Pays forms and deadlines work, and how the pension reduction is calculated | Pension administrator | Notices cannot be withdrawn once received (PTM056420) |
| Whether remedy-related tax advice can be claimed back | Your force, before you spend money | The Police Federation says advice needed because of the remedy can be claimed through the compensation process |
| Your threshold and adjusted income, if you might be tapered | You, an accountant or tax adviser | Administrators do not test the taper; you must |
| Whether to pay the charge yourself or through the scheme | An FCA-authorised financial adviser or a tax adviser | Scheme Pays is a permanent pension reduction; this is a personal decision |
Who can help: your pension administrator for statements and Scheme Pays (LPPA, for example, says it is "not regulated to offer tax advice"); your force for pay data and remedy compensation; your Police Federation or staff association representative for disputes; HMRC for the charge and the remedy service; and an FCA-authorised financial adviser or a tax adviser for a personal recommendation. The NPCC's police pension website publishes a list of advisers recommended by staff associations; you do not have to use one. PolicePay is not FCA-authorised and this page is general information, not advice.
What we could not verify, and how we handled it
- How your administrator values 1987 accrual. HMRC says the result depends on the exact rule wording (PTM053310). Our examples assume a fixed fraction of pay and say so.
- Whether legacy and 2015 inputs are tested together for the automatic statement. The statement and mandatory Scheme Pays tests are per registered scheme. We could not confirm how each police administrator treats the 1987 or 2006 and 2015 schemes for that test. If your combined inputs could be near £60,000, ask for a statement.
- The exact 2015 revaluation in each tax year. The regulation uses "the change in prices in the previous scheme year, plus 1.25%"; we did not verify how the Treasury's revaluation figures line up with HMRC's September CPI for each tax year. Our 2015 figures use a stated simplification.
- Deadlines for late remedy statements. HMRC's published dates are on this page; we found no published guidance for living members whose RPSS arrived after them.
- How many officers pay a charge. We found no published national figure. The Federation's "inspectors and above" is a description, not a statistic.
- Whether a particular ill-health retirement meets HMRC's severe ill-health test. That depends on the medical findings; ask the administrator.
- Each administrator's voluntary Scheme Pays deadline. The regulations let the scheme manager set it; we did not find a single published date.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland. HMRC's rules are UK-wide, but this page describes the England and Wales police schemes. Police Scotland's schemes are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, and Scottish income tax rates apply to the charge for Scottish taxpayers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the police pension annual allowance for 2026?
It is £60,000 for the 2026/27 tax year, as it was for 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 (Finance Act 2004 s.228). It is an HMRC limit on how much the value of all your pensions can grow in a tax year before tax is due, not a police scheme rule. It can be lower if you are a very high earner (the taper) or have flexibly accessed a defined contribution pot.
When will I get my police pension savings statement for 2025/26?
If your pension input in the scheme for 2025/26 was over £60,000, the administrator must send a pension savings statement by 6 October 2026 (reg 14A of SI 2006/567). If it was not over £60,000 you will not get one automatically, but you can ask in writing; the administrator then has until the later of 3 months and 6 October to reply.
How is the annual allowance calculated for the police pension?
For each scheme the administrator values your pension at 16 times the annual amount, plus any automatic lump sum (2006 scheme only), at the start and end of the tax year. The start value is increased by CPI to the previous September (1.7% for 2025/26, 3.8% for 2026/27). The difference is your pension input amount, which is compared with £60,000.
Will promotion trigger an annual allowance tax charge?
It can, mainly for officers with 1987 or 2006 service, because that pension is still linked to your current pay. In our illustration a pay rise from £56,000 to £66,000 on a 1987 pension of half pay produces about £62,976 of input from the legacy part alone. But a charge is only due on the excess after carry forward, which often covers a one-off promotion.
Do police officers in the 2015 CARE scheme pay annual allowance tax?
Rarely from the 2015 scheme alone. Each year adds about 1/55.3 of pay, and revaluation above CPI adds little, so on our simplified arithmetic even a chief superintendent's 2015 scheme input is well under £60,000. The risk comes from legacy final salary service, added pension purchases, other pensions, or the taper.
What is a remediable pension savings statement (RPSS)?
It is a revised statement for 2015/16 to 2022/23 after McCloud rollback, which treated remedy period service as legacy service from 1 October 2023. It shows recalculated pension input amounts so you can use HMRC's Calculate your public service pension adjustment service to find new charges, reduced charges or refunds. The statutory deadline for active and deferred members was 6 October 2024.
Does the McCloud choice at retirement change my annual allowance?
Mostly not. HMRC says that if you had not taken benefits by 1 October 2023, your remedy period inputs are calculated as if you were in the legacy scheme, and your choice at retirement does not change them. The input for the year you take benefits changes only if you choose 2015 scheme benefits and that input is lower.
Can the police pension scheme pay my annual allowance charge?
Yes. Mandatory Scheme Pays applies if your charge is over £2,000 and your input in that scheme is over £60,000; notice is due by 31 July of the year after the tax year ends. The police regulations also allow voluntary Scheme Pays where the charge is over £1,000. Either way your pension is permanently reduced.
What is the Scheme Pays deadline for 2025/26?
For mandatory Scheme Pays the notice must reach the administrator by 31 July 2027 (FA 2004 s.237BA). It is brought forward if you will take all your benefits from that scheme before then: you must give notice before you become entitled. For McCloud remedy charges, the election deadline for active and deferred members is now 6 July 2027 (SI 2026/673).
Do I need a tax return if I go over the annual allowance?
If a charge is due, yes, even if the scheme pays it. You report the excess in the pension savings tax charges section. If carry forward means no charge is due, HMRC says you do not need to report it. If you have never filed, register by 5 October; for 2025/26 the online return and payment are due 31 January 2027.
How does carry forward work for police officers?
You can add unused allowance from the three previous tax years, using the current year first and then the earliest year. You must have been a member of a registered pension scheme in each of those years, which serving officers are. For 2025/26 the earlier years are 2022/23 (£40,000 allowance), 2023/24 and 2024/25 (£60,000 each).
My pension savings statement is late. What should I do?
Ask the administrator in writing for the figures and keep a record. If you will not have them before 31 January, HMRC says to file with an estimate, tick the box for estimated figures, explain in the other information box, and amend within 12 months of the filing date. The Police Federation says to raise remedy delays with your force.
Will the 2026 Budget change the annual allowance?
We do not know and make no prediction. The Budget is on 28 October 2026. Section 228 sets £60,000 for 2023/24 and each later year unless the Treasury changes it by order. We will update this page if anything is announced.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 1 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.
- Finance Act 2004, section 228 (annual allowance), latest version on legislation.gov.uk — £60,000 for 2023-24 and each subsequent tax year, unless changed by Treasury order (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Finance Act 2004, sections 237B and 237BA (Scheme Pays and its time limit) — charge over £2,000 and scheme input over the s.228 allowance; notice by 31 July of the following year; extension for late changed statements (accessed 1 October 2026)
- The Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/567), regulation 14A — automatic pension savings statement where scheme input exceeds the annual allowance; deadline 6 October after the tax year; contents (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM051100: annual allowance essential principles — allowance by year; MPAA £10,000; how the charge is taxed at your marginal rate; who pays (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM053301: pension input amounts for defined benefits arrangements — opening and closing values, factor of 16, separate lump sum, CPI uplift; 2023 legacy-to-reformed offset rule (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM053310 and PTM053800: non-uniform accrual and backdated pay rises — the result depends on the scheme's exact accrual wording; backdated rises count in the year they are awarded (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM051200: when the annual allowance charge does not apply — death and severe ill-health exemptions; a final salary link means you are not a deferred member (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM055100: carry forward — three previous years; current year used first then the earliest; must have been a scheme member (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM056200, PTM056410, PTM056420, PTM056430 and PTM056450: telling HMRC and Scheme Pays — estimates on the return; Scheme Pays conditions, notice content, 31 July deadline, earlier deadline when taking all benefits; voluntary scheme pays (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM057100: tapered annual allowance — threshold income over £200,000, adjusted income over £260,000, £1 for every £2, minimum £10,000 (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC Pensions Tax Manual PTM167100, PTM167200, PTM167300 and PTM167400: pension savings statements — when statements are automatic; contents (this year and three previous years); on request; employer data due by 6 July; penalties (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tax on your private pension contributions, annual allowance — £60,000 this tax year; carry forward; taper; reporting on Self Assessment (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Check if you have unused annual allowances on your pension savings — HMRC calculator; earliest year first; no need to report carry forward (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445), regulations 221, 222 and 222A, latest version — information by 31 July; benefit reduction; voluntary Scheme Pays across all police schemes where the charge exceeds £1,000 (accessed 1 October 2026)
- The Police and Firefighters' Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/997), regulations 2 and 5 — voluntary Scheme Pays inserted into the 1987 scheme (Part O) and the 2006 scheme (reg 85A) (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 2 (index adjustment) — 2015 scheme revaluation: change in prices plus 1.25% (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Office for National Statistics: CPI annual rate, series D7G7 — September rates: 2021 3.1%, 2022 10.1%, 2023 6.7%, 2024 1.7%, 2025 3.8% (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC: Changes in your annual allowance following the public service pensions remedy (updated 6 May 2025) — Chapter 1 rollback; choice does not change remedy inputs; in-scope years; reporting deadlines; refunds (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC: Calculate your public service pension adjustment (updated 20 March 2026) — the digital service; you need your RPSS; what happens after you submit (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HMRC: Newsletter on the public service pensions remedy, June 2026, and SI 2026/673 — remedy Scheme Pays election deadline for active and deferred members extended to 6 July 2027; in force 14 July 2026 (accessed 1 October 2026)
- The Public Service Pension Schemes (Rectification of Unlawful Discrimination) (Tax) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/113) — the rectification deadline of 6 October 2024 for revised statements to Chapter 1 active and deferred members (accessed 1 October 2026)
- NPCC police pension website: Annual allowance (2015 scheme) — £60,000 for 2026/27; the 16 factor; lump sum counted only in the 2006 scheme; 1.7% CPI for 2025/26; statements by 6 October (accessed 1 October 2026)
- NPCC police pension website: Tax and remedy — in-scope years 2019/20 to 2022/23; list of advisers recommended by staff associations (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Police Federation of England and Wales: ABS/RSS/PSS and pensions newsletters (October 2024, January 2025) — statements explained; delays; tax advice claimable through the remedy compensation process; mainly affects inspectors and above (accessed 1 October 2026)
- LPPA: Annual allowance and Age discrimination and annual allowance — an administrator's description of RPSS, the HMRC service, Scheme Pays forms; not able to give tax advice (accessed 1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax return deadlines and income tax rates — register by 5 October 2026; paper 31 October 2026; online and payment 31 January 2027; 2025/26 and 2026/27 bands (accessed 1 October 2026)
- HM Treasury: Chancellor's letter to the Treasury Committee on the Budget 2026 date — OBR forecast and Budget on 28 October 2026 (accessed 1 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. It is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and this page is general information, not financial, tax or pension advice, and it cannot consider your personal circumstances. Pension and tax rules change and depend on your scheme, service and tax position: check your pension administrator's statement and, where sums are large or decisions hard to reverse, speak to an FCA-authorised adviser, Pension Wise (free guidance for defined contribution pensions only) or HMRC. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 1 October 2026.