Ill-Health Pension
and Divorce
When an officer has retired on ill-health grounds, or may do, a divorce raises questions the standard pension guides do not answer: whether the ill-health pension is shared, what happens to the enhancement, why the CETV drops, where the injury award fits, and how needs are met when one of you cannot work.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 19 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Yes. An ill-health pension is a police pension and a pension sharing order applies to it in all three schemes (1987 reg B12, 2006 reg 36, 2015 reg 71). The debit is fixed on pension built up to the day the order takes effect; if the officer later retires on ill-health, GAD's ill-health factors reduce the debit because the pension starts early. An enhancement awarded later is not itself debited, but the fixed debit still comes off the total. An injury award is separate: it is not topped up to replace the share, and whether it can be shared at all is unsettled.
Ill-health pension and divorce: the short version
This page is for officers who have retired on ill-health grounds, are going through the selected medical practitioner (SMP) process or expect to, and for their partners. It explains how the pension sharing rules meet the ill-health rules. It does not explain ill-health retirement itself: for that, see the injury and ill-health hub.
- It is shared like any police pension. All three schemes apply the debit to ill-health pensions.
- The debit is fixed at the order date. It is then increased by CPI and adjusted for when the pension starts.
- Ill-health retirement reduces the debit. GAD has separate ill-health tables, and paying earlier means a smaller deduction.
- A later enhancement is not itself shared, but the fixed debit still comes off the total (our inference, explained below).
- After ill-health retirement the CETV is lower because GAD assumes shorter lives for ill-health pensioners.
- The injury award is separate and does not rise to fill the gap left by a share.
- The partner receiving a share cannot take it early on ill-health grounds, except in terminal illness.
If your spouse or civil partner has an ill-health pension, you can ask for a share of it like any other police pension. What you receive is a pension credit, paid at 60 (1987 scheme), 65 (2006) or State Pension age (2015), not when the officer's pension started. The divorcing a police officer guide covers your side in full.
How the debit is adjusted when an officer retires on ill-health
The debit works like a "negative deferred pension". GAD's guidance for all three schemes describes three steps:
- Fix it. On the transfer day (the day the order takes effect) the debit is the pension used in the CETV times the percentage in the order. For a serving officer, that pension is what they would have had if service had ended the day before (WRPA s.29(8)).
- Increase it. The debit is increased in line with pensions increase (CPI) from the transfer day to retirement.
- Adjust it for timing. When the officer's pension starts, the debit is multiplied by a factor for that timing. For ill-health retirement, GAD has separate tables: 1987 Tables P, Q2, S2, T2 and U2; 2006 R1_06 and R2_06 ("reduction to pension debit on ill health retirement"); 2015 R_15.
In the 2006 and 2015 schemes the debit is set on the assumption that the pension is paid at 65 (2006) or State Pension age (2015). GAD's 2015 guidance (para 3.65) says that if the pension is taken earlier, including on ill-health, the debit is reduced. Because ill-health pensions often start many years before those ages, the reduction can be large. We cannot reproduce GAD's factor tables here (GAD's notes forbid it), so the administrator works out the exact figure.
The timing factors change what is taken off the officer's pension, not what you receive. Your pension credit is fixed when the order takes effect, increased in line with inflation until it is paid, and paid for your life at your own credit age. The officer's later ill-health retirement, remarriage or death does not alter it.
GAD's 2006 and 2015 guidance (paras 3.55 and 3.56) says some cases where an officer retires on ill-health grounds under 55 must be referred to the Home Office rather than worked out by the administrator alone. If that could apply to you, expect it to take longer and ask the administrator what it means for your figures.
The enhancement: not itself debited, but the debit still comes off
Ill-health pensions in the 2006 and 2015 schemes can include an enhancement for the service the officer can no longer do (the 2015 "upper tier", for example), and the 1987 scheme uses an ill-health scale. Partners often ask whether they get a share of that extra amount. Officers often ask whether the share is taken out of it.
The rules point to this answer, which we have reasoned from the law and GAD's method rather than found stated in terms:
- If the order took effect before the ill-health retirement, the debit was fixed on the pension built up by then, valued as if the officer had left service normally. The CETV does not include an enhancement that had not been awarded. So the enhancement itself is not shared.
- But the fixed debit is deducted from the total pension, enhancement included. The regulations apply the debit to the ill-health award as a whole (1987 reg B12; 2006 reg 36; 2015 reg 71).
- If the officer had already retired on ill-health before the order, the pension being shared is the pension in payment, enhancement and all. The pensioner cash equivalent values it on ill-health mortality tables (see below).
Ask the administrator to confirm how it will apply your debit before you rely on this. The difference can be several thousand pounds a year.
| 1987 scheme | 2006 scheme | 2015 scheme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the ill-health pension is built | An ill-health scale in sixtieths of average pensionable pay, depending on service (Schedule B Part III); a gratuity instead with under 5 years unless there is a duty injury | A standard ill-health pension of 1/70th of final pay per year of 2006 service. For officers leaving service now, the enhancement is paid under the 2015 scheme (2015 regs Sch 4 para 23) | Lower tier: the pension built up, paid without early payment reduction. Upper tier adds pay ÷ 55.3 × half the years to 60 |
| Lump sum | By commutation, based on the pension after any debit | Automatic lump sum of 4 times the standard pension, with its own lump sum debit | Optional commutation at £12 per £1, on the pension after any debit |
| Part of the pension built up before an order | Debited | Debited | Debited |
| Enhancement awarded after an order | The 1987 scale is not split into an earned part and an enhancement, so ask the administrator how the debit sits against it | Not itself debited; the fixed debit still comes off the total (our inference) | Not itself debited; the fixed debit still comes off the total (our inference) |
| Debit adjustment on ill-health retirement | GAD Tables P, Q2, S2, T2, U2 | GAD R1_06 and R2_06 | GAD R_15 |
The 2006 and 2015 rules in the table come from the site's ill-health rules file, checked against the regulations for our lower tier vs upper tier guide. Officers with a legacy part and 2015 service have both sets of rules applied to the different parts: for officers retiring from service now, the legacy part is paid on the legacy scheme's standard ill-health basis and the enhancement comes from the 2015 scheme (2015 regulations, Schedule 4 para 23).
Worked illustration: divorce, then ill-health retirement
This is an illustration, not a real case. It uses the site's ill-health pension engine on the 2015 scheme, pay held at today's top of the constable scale (£52,015 from 1 September 2026), and treats career average pension as pay times years divided by 55.3, ignoring revaluation, so everything is in today's money.
- At the order. The officer is 40 with 10 years' service. Pension built up: £52,015 × 10 ÷ 55.3 = £9,406 a year.
- The debit. The order shares 50%. Debit: £9,406 × 50% = £4,703 a year, set on the assumption it is paid from State Pension age, and increased by CPI from then on.
- Three years later. The officer retires on ill-health grounds at 43 with 13 years. Lower tier (pension built up): £12,228. Upper tier enhancement: £52,015 ÷ 55.3 × (60 − 43) ÷ 2 = £7,995. Total upper tier pension: £20,223.
- The deduction. In today's money, the debit before GAD's ill-health factor is £4,703. The ill-health factor then reduces it, because the pension starts at 43, long before State Pension age. So the deduction is less than £4,703, and the officer's pension after the share is more than £15,520 a year (upper tier) or more than £7,525 (lower tier).
What the illustration shows: the 3 years served after the order and the £7,995 enhancement are not themselves shared, and the ill-health timing works in the officer's favour on the debit. What it does not show: the actual size of the ill-health reduction, the effect of a legacy (1987 or 2006) part, the lump sum, tax, or McCloud remedy service. The former partner's credit is unaffected by any of this: it was fixed when the order took effect and is paid from their State Pension age (2015 credit).
The other way round: divorce after ill-health retirement
Now suppose the same officer is already retired on the upper tier pension of £20,223 when the divorce is settled, and the order shares 30% of the pensioner cash equivalent. For a pension in payment the debit applies straight away, and it is the pension in payment times the percentage (GAD 1987 guidance, paras 3.58 and 3.61; the 2006 and 2015 notes follow the same method).
- Debit: £20,223 × 30% = £6,067 a year.
- The officer's pension once the order is implemented: £20,223 − £6,067 = £14,156 a year. PAG2 (Appendix F) explains that the pension paid in the meantime is clawed back from the date the order took effect.
- The former partner's credit: 30% of the pensioner cash equivalent, which uses ill-health mortality tables and so is lower than for a healthy pensioner. The scheme turns that into a credit pension with its own factors, paid from the partner's State Pension age (2015 credit). We cannot work that figure out without GAD's tables.
So the officer's income falls at once, while the partner may wait many years for theirs. That is the income gap PAG2 describes (para I.24), and it is one reason maintenance or offsetting is often looked at alongside, or instead of, sharing a pension that is already in payment.
For your own ill-health figures, use the ill-health retirement calculator; for the share, the police pension divorce calculator.
Divorce before, during or after ill-health retirement
The order of events changes what is valued and how the debit behaves. The CETV for a serving officer uses GAD's standard assumptions: retirements from active service at normal pension age, from deferred status at deferred pension age, and no commutation (GAD factor workbook, assumptions sheet). Ill-health retirement is not assumed.
| When the divorce happens | What is valued | What happens to the debit | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order takes effect while serving, ill-health retirement comes later | The pension built up to the transfer day, valued as if service ended then (GAD assumes normal pension age for active members) | Fixed at the transfer day, increased by CPI, then adjusted with the ill-health timing factor when the pension starts. Paid earlier, so reduced | Service after the order is not debited. The enhancement, awarded later, is not itself debited (our inference) |
| Ill-health process running during the divorce | Still the active member's CETV, on normal assumptions. It does not include an enhancement that has not yet been awarded | Depends on whether the order takes effect before or after retirement | Tell your solicitor. Whether to wait for the decision, or build in a review, is a legal judgement |
| Divorce after ill-health retirement | A pensioner cash equivalent, using ill-health mortality tables, so lower than for a pensioner in normal health. It can be charged for | Applies straight away to the pension in payment once implemented | Backdating and recovery of overpaid pension; the credit is paid only at the credit member's age |
If an appeal or review is running. Ill-health and injury decisions can be appealed, and injury awards can be reviewed. If either is unresolved during the divorce, tell your solicitor what stage it is at and when a decision is likely. Our guides on how long medical retirement takes and injury award appeals set out the stages.
If an order was made years ago. An earlier pension sharing order still applies if the officer later retires on ill-health. The debit fixed then is increased by CPI and adjusted with the ill-health factors when the pension starts; the former partner's credit is not affected. If the order included McCloud remedy service and the information was given before 1 October 2023, it may be recalculated under the remedy regulations; see McCloud remedy and divorce.
If you are already retired. The debit applies to the pension in payment once the order is implemented. SPPA, which runs the Scottish scheme, says the pension carries on at the full rate until then, and the reduction is backdated with the overpayment recovered; PAG2 (Appendix F) describes the same clawback. The divorce after retirement guide covers it.
Why an ill-health pensioner's CETV is lower
Once an officer has retired, the scheme gives a pensioner cash equivalent, for divorce use only. GAD's guidance says ill-health pensioners are valued on separate tables that assume heavier mortality (shorter lives). PAG2 puts it simply: the CE of a member who retired due to ill health "will be lower than the CE of a member who retired in normal health" (para I.34). A pensioner valuation can also be charged for; the Met's 2023 schedule charged £1,360.
What this means in practice:
- The pension has not changed, only the capital value put on it. An ill-health pension paid for life is the same pension whatever its CE.
- A percentage of a lower CE is a smaller credit. A partner who receives a share of an ill-health pensioner's CE gets a credit worked out from that lower figure, then paid at their own credit age.
- Offsetting against a low CE can mislead. If the pension is offset against the house or savings, using the ill-health CE as its "value" may understate what the officer keeps. PAG2 warns generally about the limits of CE figures (para 1.18).
- The reverse can also apply. PAG2 notes that where the pension holder is in poor health with reduced life expectancy, it may be better for the parties' combined wealth to share more of the pension to the healthy spouse (para I.36). That depends on medical evidence and expert analysis.
Ill-health mortality, the enhancement and the timing of each pension are exactly the points a pension on divorce expert models. See do you need a PODE?
The injury award: separate from the pension
An injury award under the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 is not part of the police pension scheme. It can include a gratuity and an injury pension, and the injury pension is reduced by the officer's police pension and some other payments. Three points matter in a divorce. The detail is in police injury awards and divorce.
- A pension share is not made up by a bigger injury pension. Schedule 3 para 6(2)(c) says that where the injury pension is reduced by a 1987 scheme pension, a reduction to that pension "by virtue of a pension debit" is deemed not to have happened. So the injury pension is reduced as if no debit existed, and the officer bears the debit. We could only read the original 2006 text; whether the same rule applies to 2006 and 2015 scheme pensions in the amended regulations we could not confirm.
- Whether an injury award can be shared is unsettled. The Pension Sharing (Valuation) Regulations 2000 (reg 2(1)(c)) exclude rights that pay a benefit "solely by reason of" disablement or death from an accident in pensionable service, and injury awards sit outside the scheme's CETV. But we found no primary source that says in terms that a police injury award cannot be the subject of a pension sharing order.
- It is still income and must be disclosed. A court considers all income and financial resources (MCA s.25(2)(a)). We found no specific authority on how police injury awards are treated as income in financial remedy cases. For the CMS, income comes from HMRC's taxable figures, and HMRC says police injury payments can be paid tax-free (EIM75900), so the injury element may not appear in a CMS calculation.
The injury award calculator shows how the award interacts with the pension, and is a police injury pension tax-free? covers the tax.
Needs and income when one of you cannot work
Ill-health often means one person's earning days are over, sometimes decades early. The court's starting points are in section 25(2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973: each party's income and earning capacity (including what they could reasonably be expected to acquire), their needs, their ages, and "any physical or mental disability" of either of them. It must also consider whether a clean break is appropriate (s.25A).
- If the officer cannot work. Their income may be the ill-health pension, any injury pension and benefits. Sharing the pension reduces that income for life. That is part of the needs picture, not a bar to sharing.
- If the partner cannot work. PAG2 says that where a claimant cannot meet their income needs because of disability or ill health, thought needs to be given to preserving pension income until a pension share would produce income for them (para 10.3). A police credit is not paid until 60, 65 or State Pension age, so the gap can be long.
- Independence may not be possible. The Family Justice Council's needs guidance adopts the Law Commission's aim of a transition to independence where that is possible, and accepts that in a significant number of cases it is not, usually because of age but sometimes for other reasons.
Income while the ill-health process is running
The months before an ill-health decision are often the hardest financially. A long absence can take an officer onto half pay (the police half pay calculator shows when), overtime stops, and the pension has not started. If maintenance is being discussed during this time:
- The court can order maintenance pending the outcome of the divorce, starting no earlier than the application (MCA s.22).
- An agreement made on reduced sick pay may not fit once a pension, a lump sum or an injury award arrives, and the reverse. Periodical payments orders can be varied when circumstances change (MCA s.31).
- Lump sums paid on retirement are capital. If one arrives during the divorce, it has to be disclosed like any other money.
| Income or asset | Shared by a pension sharing order? | Taxed? | In a CMS child maintenance calculation? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police ill-health pension | Yes, in all three schemes | Yes, as pension income (EIM75900: the registered scheme pension is taxable) | Likely, as HMRC-reported taxable income; check how the CMS treats pension income in your case |
| Injury pension (PIBR 2006) | Unsettled; generally understood not to be shareable, not confirmed in terms | Can be paid tax-free; only the reduced injury payment is tax-free (EIM75900) | May not appear, because the CMS uses HMRC's taxable figures |
| Injury gratuity already received | Not a pension; if you still hold it, it sits with your savings and other capital | See the injury tax guide | Not income |
| Pension credit received from the officer | It is the result of a share, paid at 60, 65 or State Pension age | Taxable as pension income when paid | Only if the credit member is the paying parent and it is in payment |
| Earnings from other work | No | Yes | Yes, if the earner is the paying parent |
The CMS column follows the rule that the CMS works from the paying parent's taxable income as HMRC holds it (Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, Part 4). We have not checked every type of pension income against the CMS's own guidance, so treat that column as a guide, and see child maintenance and police pay.
Practical tools: the divorce budget calculator for monthly figures, spousal maintenance on police pay for how maintenance is decided, and injury awards and DWP benefits for how benefits interact.
If the partner receiving the share is the one who is ill
Sometimes it is the non-police partner who is unwell. A pension credit has fewer ways out than an officer's own pension, and that matters if your health is poor.
- No ill-health early payment. A credit member cannot retire on ill-health grounds (Home Office Circular 004/2003). In the 2015 scheme a reduced pension can be claimed from 55; in the 1987 and 2006 schemes the credit is paid at 60 and 65.
- Terminal illness. If life expectancy is under a year, the whole credit can be commuted for a lump sum of five times the annual pension (1987 M3(2); 2006 reg 62, on the pension at 65; 2015 reg 132).
- One set of tables for credit members. PAG2 notes there is only one set of credit tables, with no impaired-life terms, so a credit member in poor health loses value (Appendix I).
- No survivor pension. Nothing is payable to a credit member's own partner or dependants on their death, apart from the lump sums in the scheme rules if they die before payment.
In that position, offsetting (taking more of the house or savings instead of a credit), maintenance, or a smaller share with more capital may meet your needs better than a credit you may not live to draw. These are judgements for your solicitor and, where the sums are large, a PODE.
Step by step
| Step | What to do | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Write down where the ill-health process is: not started, with the SMP, decided, under appeal, or retired | Officer |
| 2 | Ask for a CETV saying it is for divorce, and ask the administrator to confirm it reflects your status (active or ill-health pensioner) | Officer |
| 3 | Disclose the ill-health pension and any injury award separately, with the award letters | Officer |
| 4 | Ask how the debit would be adjusted if you retire on ill-health, and whether a referral to the Home Office applies | Officer, administrator |
| 5 | List both of your income needs, now and when each pension is paid, including disability costs and benefits | Both |
| 6 | Consider a PODE report: ill-health mortality, the enhancement and income gaps are exactly the areas they cover | Both, with solicitors |
| 7 | If the receiving partner is unwell, weigh a credit (paid only at 60, 65 or State Pension age) against offsetting | Partner, with solicitor |
| 8 | Agree whether maintenance continues, for how long and how it can be reviewed | Both, with solicitors |
Keep ill-health and injury paperwork separate in your disclosure: award letters, SMP reports (only as far as you choose and need to share medical detail), and the administrator's pension statements. The Form E for police officers guide shows where each goes.
What to ask the pension administrator
The administrator applies the debit and the GAD factors, so it is the only source of exact figures. Put your questions in writing and keep the replies with your disclosure.
| Question for the administrator | Why |
|---|---|
| Is my CETV an active, deferred or pensioner valuation, and does it use ill-health tables? | The basis changes the figure a lot |
| If a pension sharing order takes effect now and I later retire on ill-health, how will the debit be adjusted? Please show it at my expected date | The ill-health timing factor is applied by the administrator, not by you |
| Would my case be a Home Office referral case? | GAD's 2006 and 2015 guidance flags some under-55 ill-health cases |
| How is the debit applied to my enhancement or 1987 ill-health scale pension? | Confirms the inference on this page for your own case |
| How will the lump sum (or lump sum debit) be affected? | 1987 and 2015 commutation is on the pension after the debit; 2006 has a separate lump sum debit |
| If I am already retired: from what date will my pension be reduced, and how will any overpayment be recovered? | Avoids a surprise clawback |
| What is your charge for a pensioner valuation and for implementing an order? | Pensioner valuations can be charged for; implementation fees run into thousands |
In Scotland, the Scottish Public Pensions Agency administers police pensions, and only the part of the pension built up between the marriage and the relevant date (usually separation) is matrimonial property. See police divorce in Scotland.
Myths and facts
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| "An ill-health pension is compensation, so it cannot be shared." | The ill-health pension is a police pension and can be shared. The 1987, 2006 and 2015 regulations all apply the debit to it |
| "If I retire on ill-health after the divorce, my ex gets half of my enhancement." | The debit is fixed on pension built up to the day the order takes effect. An enhancement awarded later is not itself debited, though the fixed debit is still deducted from the total (our reading of the rules) |
| "The debit is the same whenever I retire." | No. It is increased by CPI and then adjusted for when the pension starts. Ill-health retirement uses its own GAD tables, which reduce it because the pension is paid earlier |
| "My injury award will make up what I lose to the pension share." | No. Where the injury pension is reduced by a 1987 scheme pension, the pension is treated as if the debit had not happened (PIBR Sch 3 para 6(2)(c)). The share is not topped up by the injury award |
| "An injury award never counts in a divorce." | Whether it can be shared by a pension sharing order is unsettled. It must be disclosed, and a court looks at all income and resources (MCA s.25(2)(a)) |
| "My partner is ill too, so they can take the pension credit early." | A credit member cannot take an ill-health pension. The only early route is commuting the whole credit if life expectancy is under a year |
| "If I retire on ill-health, my ex's pension credit is cut too." | No. The credit was fixed when the order took effect and is paid for the credit member's life. Only the officer's debit is adjusted for when the officer's pension starts |
| "A lower CETV for an ill-health pensioner means my pension is worth less." | The pension is the same; the CE is lower because GAD's tables for ill-health pensioners assume shorter lives. Whether that is fair to either of you is a question for a PODE |
Who can help, and what we could not verify
Who can help. A family solicitor for each of you; a pension on divorce expert for the valuation questions; your pension administrator for the debit and CETV; your Federation branch for welfare support and its family law arrangement; and your force's occupational health or HR for where the ill-health process stands. The enquiry form below goes to PolicePay (Andrew Thomas). It is not a law firm and does not promise a free call.
What we could not verify.
- That the enhancement is not itself debited but the fixed debit comes off the whole ill-health pension. This is our reading of WRPA s.29 and GAD's method, not a sentence we found in the rules.
- Whether Schedule 3 para 6(2)(c) of the injury regulations applies the same way to 2006 and 2015 scheme pensions: legislation.gov.uk holds only the original text.
- Whether a police injury award can be the subject of a pension sharing order. Generally understood not to be, but not confirmed in terms.
- How courts treat police injury awards as income. Only the general rule (MCA s.25(2)(a)) applies as far as we found.
- How administrators price a reduced 2015 credit taken from 55.
- The size of GAD's ill-health debit reduction in any given case: the factor tables cannot be reproduced.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can my ex get a share of my police ill-health pension?
Yes. An ill-health pension is part of your police pension and can be shared by a pension sharing order. The 1987 (reg B12), 2006 (reg 36) and 2015 (reg 71 with WRPA s.31) regulations all apply the pension debit to it. The court decides, or you agree, what percentage if any is shared.
If I retire on ill-health after the divorce, is my ex's share bigger?
No. The debit is fixed on the pension you had built up on the day the order took effect, increased by CPI. When you retire on ill-health grounds, GAD's ill-health timing factors adjust it, and because the pension starts earlier than assumed the debit is reduced. Service after the order is not debited.
Is the ill-health enhancement shared?
Not if it is awarded after the order. The debit is fixed on rights built up to the transfer day, so a later enhancement is not itself debited. But the fixed debit is still taken off your total ill-health pension, enhancement included. This is our reading of WRPA s.29 and GAD's method; we did not find it stated in terms.
Why is my CETV so low now I have retired on ill-health?
For a pensioner, the scheme gives a pensioner cash equivalent. GAD uses separate mortality tables for ill-health pensioners that assume shorter lives, so the CE is lower than for someone who retired in normal health (GAD guidance; PAG2 para I.34). Your pension is the same; the valuation is different.
Can my police injury award be shared on divorce?
It is not settled. The Pension Sharing (Valuation) Regulations 2000 exclude rights that pay a benefit solely because of disablement from an accident in pensionable service, but we found no primary source saying in terms that a police injury award cannot be shared. Disclose it and get advice. See our injury awards and divorce guide.
Will my injury award go up if my pension is shared?
No. Where the injury pension is reduced by a 1987 scheme pension, the injury regulations treat that pension as if the debit had not been made (Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, Sch 3 para 6(2)(c)), so the injury award does not rise to fill the gap. We could not confirm the rule for 2006 and 2015 scheme pensions from the amended text.
Does an injury award count as income for maintenance?
A court looks at all income and financial resources (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s.25(2)(a)), so it is likely to be considered. We found no specific authority on police injury awards. For child maintenance through the CMS, income is taken from HMRC's taxable figures, and HMRC says police injury payments can be paid tax-free (EIM75900), so the injury element may not appear.
My partner cannot work because of illness. What does that change?
The court must consider each party's needs, earning capacity and any physical or mental disability (MCA s.25(2)). PAG2 says that where a claimant cannot work because of disability or ill health, thought needs to be given to preserving pension income until a pension credit would provide income (para 10.3). That can point to maintenance, offsetting or a different share.
Can the partner who receives the share take it early on ill-health grounds?
No. A pension credit member cannot retire on ill-health. The only exception is when life expectancy is under a year: the whole credit can then be commuted for a lump sum of five times the annual pension (1987 M3(2), 2006 reg 62, 2015 reg 132).
Does an ill-health pension stop maintenance being ordered?
No. An ill-health pension is income like any other for the court's purposes. Whether maintenance is ordered, how much and for how long depends on both of your needs and resources and the duty to consider a clean break (MCA s.25A). See our spousal maintenance guide.
Is a police ill-health pension taxed?
The ill-health pension from the police pension scheme is taxable like any other pension. HMRC says injury payments from schemes such as the police injury benefit scheme can be paid tax-free, and where the injury payment is reduced by a registered scheme pension, only the reduced injury payment is tax-free (EIM75900).
Does a pension share reduce my ill-health lump sum?
Yes. In the 1987 and 2015 schemes the lump sum comes from commuting part of the pension, and commutation is worked out on the pension after the debit. The 2006 scheme has a separate lump sum debit, which GAD's tables also adjust for ill-health retirement. The death in service grant and children's pensions are not reduced by a debit in any scheme.
Is an ill-health pension treated differently in Scotland?
The debit and credit rules are similar, but the valuation is not. In Scotland only the part of the pension built up between the marriage (or civil partnership) and the relevant date, usually separation, is matrimonial property, and the order gives a cash amount rather than a percentage. The Scottish Public Pensions Agency administers police pensions there.
My ill-health retirement is still being decided. Should the divorce wait?
That is a decision for you and your solicitor. An active member's CETV assumes you leave service normally, so it will not reflect an enhancement you have not yet been awarded. If the outcome could change the needs of either of you a lot, raise it early rather than after the order is agreed.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 19 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, section 29 : debit fixed on the cash equivalent at the transfer day; active member valued as if service ended (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, section 31 : reduction of benefit overrides scheme rules (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Pension Sharing (Valuation) Regulations 2000, regulation 2 : rights that cannot be shared, including benefits solely by reason of disablement from an accident in service (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions (Pension Sharing) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/3202) : 1987 scheme reg B12 (awards to a debit member) and Part M (credit members, M3(2) terminal illness) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3415), as made : reg 36 (awards on rights reduced by s.31, including the reg 29 ill-health pension); reg 62 terminal illness (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 71 : pension debit member's accounts reduced (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, Part 8 (pension credit members) : reg 132 commutation of the whole credit in serious ill-health (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Government Actuary's Department: Police (England and Wales) guidance notes, transfer values and pension sharing on divorce (10 December 2020) : ill-health timing factors; debit reduced when paid early; referral cases; ill-health pensioner CE (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Government Actuary's Department: Police (England and Wales) consolidated factor workbooks : pension debit adjustment tables; assumptions sheet (active members assumed to retire at normal pension age) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, Schedule 3 (as made) : para 6(2)(c): a pension reduced by a pension debit is deemed not to have been reduced (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Pension Advisory Group: A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce, 2nd edition (2024, CC BY 4.0) : para 10.3 income needs and ill health; paras I.34 to I.36 poor health and CEs (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25 : income, earning capacity, needs and disability (s.25(2)(a), (b) and (e)) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25A : duty to consider a clean break (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, sections 22 and 31 : maintenance pending suit (s.22); variation of periodical payments when circumstances change (s.31) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Family Justice Council: Guidance on Financial Needs on Divorce, 2nd edition (April 2018) : transition to independence, and cases where independence is not possible (guidance, not law) (accessed 19 October 2026)
- HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM75900 : police injury payments can be paid tax-free; registered scheme pension taxable (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, Part 4 : income taken from HMRC taxable figures (accessed 19 October 2026)
- SPPA: Pensions on Divorce, Police and Fire (1 April 2026) : Scottish practice; pension in payment reduced once the share is implemented and overpayment recovered (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, section 10 : relevant date and the matrimonial share of pension rights (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Home Office: The police pension scheme, pension sharing on divorce (Circular 004/2003) : credit members have no ill-health early payment, except terminal illness (accessed 19 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. It is not a law firm or a financial adviser, is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and this page is general information, not legal, financial or pension advice. Every divorce settlement depends on the facts, and pension sharing is decided by agreement or by a court. Figures from our calculators are estimates on stated assumptions: the scheme administrator's cash equivalent and the court order are what count. For decisions about your settlement, speak to a family solicitor and, where the pension is a large part of the money, a pension on divorce expert. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 19 October 2026.