Months 1 to 6
Full pay
No monthly gap
£254 spare
- Police pay (take-home)
- £2,554
- Total in
- £2,554
- Outgoings
- £2,300
Rules checked against the regulations on 30 September 2026
Police Protection Gap Calculator
If you can't work, or you die in service: what arrives each month, and what doesn't
Enter your pay, pension scheme, dependants and real monthly outgoings. The tool runs three scenarios through the Police Regulations and pension rules and shows the gap per month and how many years of outgoings a lump sum would cover.
What does this calculator show?
In short: a police officer on long-term sick leave gets 6 months on full pay and 6 months on half pay, then nothing unless the chief officer extends it. Ill-health retirement and injury awards replace that with a pension worked out on scheme formulas, and death in service pays a lump sum plus survivor pensions. None of these is built around your mortgage, which is why a gap appears. This tool measures it.
The numbers below are an example household so you can see how the tool works. Replace every figure with your own: the answer is only useful if the outgoings are real.
1. About you
Basic pay from the England and Wales scales. Allowances are not included.
£
Leave blank to use the pay point. Typing a figure overrides the pay point.
Which pension scheme are you in?
Your pension statement says. The tool treats all your service as being in this scheme; if yours is split (transitional protection or the McCloud remedy period) use it as a guide only.
2. Your household
This changes what a survivor pension pays. Unmarried partners normally need two years' cohabitation; check with your administrator.
Under 18, or under 23 in full-time education.
£
Income that carries on whatever happens to you. Leave at 0 if none.
3. Monthly outgoings
£
£
Energy, council tax, food, transport, phone, insurance.
£
Loans, childcare, credit cards, subscriptions.
Total: £2,300 a month.
4. What you already have (optional)
£
£
Only cover on top of the police pension death grant: a policy or mortgage protection you hold.
£
Income protection or a branch scheme. Payout once it starts.
Check the deferred period or start date in your policy or scheme rules.
£
From a payslip, excluding overtime. If you enter it we use it instead of our estimate.
A doctor and your force decide the real band. Try two or three.
A. Long-term sickness, month by month
Assumes no other sick leave in the previous 12 months, so you start with the full six months of full pay and six of half pay (Annex K). After that, pay stops unless your chief officer extends it. Take-home is estimated from basic pay.
Months 7 to 12
Half pay
Gap per month
£876
- Police pay (take-home)
- £1,424
- Total in
- £1,424
- Outgoings
- £2,300
Month 13 onwards
No pay
Gap per month
£2,300
- Police pay (take-home)
- £0
- Total in
- £0
- Outgoings
- £2,300
Shortfall over the first 12 months: £5,259
Shortfall over the first 24 months: £32,859
Savings of £3,000 cover about 3.4 months of the shortfall and run out in month 10 of your absence.
- Overtime and most allowances are not in these figures. If your outgoings rely on overtime, a "no gap" result on full pay can be misleading: check what your payslip actually shows once you have been off for a few weeks.
- State benefits (Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit) are not modelled. While on full pay, regulation 31 deducts incapacity-type benefits you are entitled to from your pay.
- On half pay, pensionable earnings are the reduced pay, so in the 2015 scheme you build pension at half the rate for that period (regulation 168).
- Earlier sick leave shortens the full-pay window. Work out your own dates with the sick pay calculator.
Rules last checked against the regulations on 30 September 2026. This is an information tool, not regulated financial advice and not a decision on anyone's entitlement. Your force, pension administrator and Federation representative have the final word on your own figures.
How to read the three scenarios
A. Long-term sickness
Month by month: 6 months on full pay, 6 on half pay, then no pay. The gap is your outgoings minus what lands in the account, including any partner income and sickness cover you already hold. Most officers find the gap opens at month seven.
B. Ill-health or injury retirement
Four outcomes side by side: lower tier, upper tier, and each with an injury award at the band you choose. The gap is the same sum: outgoings minus take-home pension, partner income included. The lump sums show how long a gap could be bridged.
C. Death in service
The scheme's lump sum and the survivor and children's pensions, with and without the extra special award when death is caused by a duty injury. "Years of outgoings covered" is the lump sum divided by a year of your outgoings.
Method and assumptions
Every number the tool uses comes from one sourced data file, the same one the guides quote. The ledger below lists each rule with where it came from. The simplifications are deliberate and listed here so you can judge how far to trust the output.
- Final pay is today's annual salary. Pay rises before you leave or die would increase the figures; pensionable allowances are not included.
- 2015 scheme pension is salary x years / 55.3 without revaluation. Real accrual uses the pensionable earnings of each year, revalued, so a long-serving officer who has been promoted will see a different figure.
- Enhancement in the 2015 scheme is final pay / 55.3 x half the years between leaving and age 60. In the 2006 scheme it is half the service you would have done to age 55.
- Take-home uses 2026/27 England and Wales income tax, National Insurance and the 2015 scheme contribution rates (12.88%, 13.88%, 14.22%) for every scheme. 1987 and 2006 members pay different contributions; type in a payslip figure if you know it.
- Pensions are treated as taxable. HMRC says police injury benefit payments can be tax-free in some circumstances, so real take-home may be higher.
- Not modelled: state benefits, commutation, added pension, pension sharing on divorce, age-gap reductions to survivor pensions, reductions for industrial injuries benefits, reviews that reduce an award, and tax on lump sums.
- Outgoings stay constant in every scenario. That is cautious for death in service (your own costs would fall) and realistic for sickness.
The rules behind the numbers
Each rule was read from the legislation or official guidance on 30 September 2026. Source links are in the list below.
Sick pay
- Full pay for six months then half pay for six months in any one year period; earlier paid absence in the previous 12 months is deducted from the entitlement; after that, no pay unless the chief officer extends it. Source: Home Office, Annex K (sick pay) , Annex K text (Federation copy) , Police Regulations 2003, reg 28
- Full-pay sick leave is reduced by any incapacity-type benefit or statutory sick pay you are entitled to (regulation 31). The calculator does not model state benefits. Source: Police Regulations 2003, reg 31
Pension accrual
- 2015 scheme: pension builds at 1/55.3 of pensionable earnings a year (simplified here: current pay x years / 55.3, without revaluation). 2006 scheme: 1/70 of final pensionable pay per year. 1987 scheme: sixtieths set by the ill-health formula. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015 , Police Pensions Regulations 2006 , Police Pensions Regulations 1987
- 2015 scheme: on reduced pay (half pay) pensionable earnings are the reduced pay, so pension builds at the lower rate for that period. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regs 35-38 and 168
Ill-health retirement
- 2015 scheme: lower tier = accrued pension paid unreduced (unfit for police duties only); upper tier (unfit for any regular employment) adds final pay / 55.3 x half the years from leaving to age 60; needs 2 years' service or a duty injury. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015 , Public Service Pensions Act 2013, s.10
- 2015 scheme: with under 5 years' service the upper-tier enhancement is the lesser of 3 x accrued pension and the formula above. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015
- 2006 scheme: standard pension 1/70 of final pay per year plus lump sum of 4/70 per year; enhanced top-up (unfit for any regular employment) adds half the service you would have done to age 55. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2006
- 1987 scheme: under 5 years 1/60 per year; 5 to 10 years 2/60 per year; over 10 years 7/60 + 1/60 per year up to 20 + 2/60 per year after 20, floor 20/60 and ceiling 40/60; under 5 years without a duty injury the award is a gratuity, not a pension. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 1987
- You are retired on ill-health only if the police pension authority requires it after a selected medical practitioner's report; the authority may instead require you to keep serving. Appeal within 28 days of the report. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regs 81-82 and Sch 1
Injury award
- Injury gratuity and "minimum income guarantee" are percentages of average pensionable pay set by degree of disablement and years of service (Schedule 3 table). Source: Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006
- Injury pension = guarantee less three-quarters of the ordinary / ill-health pension, so total income is the guarantee plus a quarter of the pension. Further reductions apply for industrial injuries benefits and similar. Source: Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 , Police and Firefighters Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2018
Death in service
- 2015 scheme: lump sum 3 x final pay; survivor pension 50% of the upper-tier ill-health pension you would have had (needs 2 years' service); child pension 50% of that per child (1 or 2 children), 3+ children share 100%. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015
- 2006 scheme: lump sum 3 x pensionable pay; survivor pension half the standard plus enhanced top-up ill-health pension; child pension half of that per child, 3+ share it equally. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2006
- 1987 scheme: lump sum 2 x pensionable pay; spouse or civil partner pension half the ill-health pension (3 years' service); children 18.75% each (37.5% total if more than two); first 13 weeks topped up to pay; no pension for unmarried partners; pension stops on remarriage or cohabitation. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 1987 , Home Office 1987 scheme members guide , Home Office answer to PQ 72461
- Unmarried partners in the 2006 and 2015 schemes must satisfy the scheme manager of an exclusive, committed, interdependent relationship and (normally) two years' cohabitation; a signed declaration is no longer required (SI 2018/997). The lump sum goes to a spouse or civil partner first, then by discretion to a qualifying partner, a nominee, or your estate. Source: Police Pensions Regulations 2015 , Police Pensions Regulations 2006 , SI 2018/997, regs 4 and 34 (surviving cohabiting partners)
- If death results from a duty injury the Injury Benefit Regulations add a special award: survivor pension 45% of average pensionable pay (paid instead of a lower ordinary pension), a gratuity of 25% of pay plus the greater of 1 x pay or 2.25 x the notional ill-health pension, and child allowances of 10% of pay each. Source: Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 , Police and Firefighters Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2018
Tax and pay
- England & Wales 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance and 2015-scheme pension contributions of 12.88% / 13.88% / 14.22% (SI 2026/267) are used for take-home estimates for every scheme. 1987 and 2006 scheme members pay different contributions, so enter your own payslip figure if you know it. Source: SI 2026/267 (2015 scheme contribution rates)
- Pensions and survivor pensions are treated as taxable income in the calculator (cautious). HMRC says payments from police injury benefit schemes can be tax-free in some circumstances, so real take-home could be higher. Source: HMRC EIM75900
Injury award table (Schedule 3, Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006)
| Degree of disablement | Gratuity | Under 5 yrs | 5 to under 15 | 15 to under 25 | 25+ years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1, slight (25% or less) | 12.5% | 15% | 30% | 45% | 60% |
| Band 2, minor (more than 25% but not more than 50%) | 25% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% |
| Band 3, major (more than 50% but not more than 75%) | 37.5% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% |
| Band 4, very severe (more than 75%) | 50% | 85% | 85% | 85% | 85% |
Gratuity and "minimum income guarantee" as a percentage of average pensionable pay. Source: legislation.gov.uk, Schedule 3, read 30 September 2026.
Death in service: lump sum multiples
1987 scheme: 2 x annual pensionable pay. 2006 scheme: 3 x. 2015 scheme: 3 x final pay. Survivor pension in every scheme is one half of the ill-health pension you would have been entitled to.
What varies by force, so has no number here
- Whether and when the chief officer extends full or half sick pay. Annex K para 3 gives discretion to each chief officer; each force has its own written criteria.
- Which allowances continue while you are on sick leave (regional or London allowance, CRTP, specialist allowances). Annex K defines "full pay" by reference to the pay determination; each allowance has its own determination and force practice.
- How quickly occupational health, SMP referral and Regulation 37/review processes run. Process is set by force policy and workload, inside the regulations' time limits.
- Whether your branch runs a group insurance or benefit scheme, and what it pays. Federation branch schemes are local; the Sussex example pays a percentage of gross salary in the half-pay and nil-pay phases.
- Whether adjusted duties pay is reduced after 12 months. The chief officer or delegated authority decides case by case (Annex EE para 16 and 18).
Common questions
What is a protection gap?
It is the difference between the money you need every month and the money that would actually arrive if you could no longer work or died. The police schemes give officers more than most employees get, but each benefit is worked out on its own formula, and the outgoings you have today (a mortgage sized for your salary plus overtime) are rarely built around those formulas. This calculator sets the two side by side so you can see where the gap is, and how big.
How long do police officers get full sick pay?
Under Annex K of the Police Regulations 2003 determinations, an officer on sick leave is entitled to full pay for 6 months in any one year period and then half pay for 6 months in any one year period. Earlier paid absence in the previous 12 months is deducted from the entitlement on the first day of a new absence, so it is a rolling entitlement, not a fresh start each year. After the half-pay months are used, nothing in Annex K pays you unless your chief officer uses the discretion in the determination to extend it.
Does the calculator include overtime and allowances?
No. It uses basic pay from the 2026/27 England and Wales scales, or a salary you type in. Overtime is not pay during sick leave, and whether allowances such as regional or London allowance, CRTP or specialist payments continue depends on each allowance's own determination and your force's practice. If your outgoings rely on overtime, the honest test is what your payslip shows after a few weeks of sickness; you can type that figure into the optional payslip box.
Why does the ill-health section show four outcomes instead of one?
Because you do not choose the outcome. A selected medical practitioner decides whether you are permanently unfit for police duties and, separately, whether you are unfit for any regular employment; your police pension authority then decides whether to retire you. An injury award is only available if the unfitness is the result of a duty injury, and the band depends on how far your earning capacity is reduced. Showing lower tier, upper tier and both with an injury award lets you see the range rather than guess.
How is death in service worked out?
The police pension schemes pay a lump sum (twice pensionable pay in the 1987 scheme, three times in the 2006 and 2015 schemes) plus a survivor pension and children's pensions built on the ill-health pension you would have been entitled to. The calculator applies the formula for your scheme. If death is caused by a duty injury, the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 add a special award. Who is eligible depends on your marital status and, for unmarried partners, on whether you meet the relationship tests and two years' cohabitation.
Why is the answer different from my pension statement?
The calculator is deliberately simple. It uses today's salary as final pay, builds 2015-scheme pension as salary times years divided by 55.3 without revaluation, treats all your service as being in the scheme you pick, and leaves out pension you may have bought (added pension) and commutation. Your annual benefit statement and your pension administrator's quote will always be more accurate. Use this tool to find out whether there is a gap worth investigating, not to replace a quote.
Does it work for 1987, 2006 and 2015 scheme members?
Yes, with a caveat. You pick one scheme and the tool applies that scheme's rules to all your years of service. Many serving officers have service in more than one scheme because of transitional protection and the McCloud remedy, and for them the real benefit is a combination. The figures are still a reasonable order of magnitude, and the method notes on this page say where they will differ.
Is my information stored or sent anywhere?
Nothing you type is saved by the tool or sent to us. The page records anonymous usage events (for example which pension scheme and a broad salary band were used) so we can see whether it is useful. Close the tab and your figures are gone.
Does it cover Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. It models the England and Wales police regulations. Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have different pension and injury benefit schemes and, in Scotland, different income tax bands.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is general information based on the regulations and is not regulated financial advice. It does not recommend that you buy or avoid any product. If you are considering private cover or a big financial decision, speak to an independent adviser authorised by the FCA, and ask your pension administrator for a quote on your own benefits.
Sources
- Home Office, Police Regulations 2003 determinations, Annex K (sick pay), circular of 28 March 2003. Accessed 30 September 2026. Original 2003 determination: six months full pay then six months half pay "in any one year period", rolling 12-month deduction, chief officer discretion to extend.
- Annex K determination text (copy hosted by Police Federation, West Midlands). Accessed 30 September 2026. Text of Annex K: paragraphs 1 to 4.
- Police Regulations 2003, regulation 28 (sick pay) and regulation 31 (benefits deducted from full pay). Accessed 30 September 2026. Reg 28 leaves the entitlement to a Secretary of State determination (Annex K); reg 31 lists benefits deducted from pay on full pay.
- Police Regulations 2003, regulation 31 (deductions of social security benefits and SSP). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445), regulations 101 to 104 (ill-health), 134 to 146 (survivors, children), 152 to 161 (death grant, nominations). Accessed 30 September 2026. Revised text on legislation.gov.uk, up to date to 1 April 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3415), regulations 28 to 31 (pensions), 39 to 42 (survivors), 46 to 47 (death grant, nomination). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/257), regulation B3 and Schedule B Part III (ill-health), regulation C1 and Schedule C (widow(er)s), Part D (children), E8 (first 13 weeks). Accessed 30 September 2026. legislation.gov.uk holds only the as-made text of the 1987 Regulations; later amendments (for example the lump sum death grant, regulation E3A) are taken from the Home Office members' guide below.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulations 35 to 38 (eligibility for ill-health benefits) and regulation 168 (pensionable earnings on reduced pay). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Public Service Pensions Act 2013, section 10 (normal pension age is 60 for members of a police force). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulations 81 to 82 and Schedule 1 (medical questions, retirement decision, 28-day appeal). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/932), regulations 6 to 14 and 17, Schedule 3 (police officer's injury award). Accessed 30 September 2026. Schedule 3 gives the gratuity and minimum income guarantee percentages by degree of disablement and length of service.
- The Police and Firefighters' Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/997), regulations 7 to 22 (injury benefit for 2015 scheme members). Accessed 30 September 2026. Extends the injury benefit rules (average pensionable pay = final pay, and the 2.25 times ill-health pension test) to 2015 scheme members.
- Home Office, The Police Pension Scheme 1987: Members' Guide (Crown copyright 2006), sections 5 and 6. Accessed 30 September 2026. States the lump sum death grant (twice annual pensionable pay), the half-rate widow(er)/civil partner pension, the 13-week increase and the child allowance rates.
- Home Office written answer to Parliamentary Question 72461, 8 September 2025 (1987 scheme survivor benefits cease on remarriage or cohabitation). Accessed 30 September 2026. Text of the answer as reproduced by Westminster Brief; the official record is on questions-statements.parliament.uk.
- The Police and Firefighters' Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/997), regulation 4 (amending regulation 40 of the 2006 Regulations) and regulation 34 (amending regulation 135 of the 2015 Regulations). Accessed 30 September 2026. Removed the requirement for an unmarried partner's signed declaration (and the related revocation provisions) from the 2006 and 2015 schemes. The revised text of regulation 135 of the 2015 Regulations shows the amendment effective 8 October 2018. Unmarried partners must still satisfy the scheme manager of the relationship conditions and two years' cohabitation.
- Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/267): member contribution rates from 1 April 2026. Accessed 30 September 2026. Sets the 12.88%, 13.88% and 14.22% contribution tiers used for take-home estimates.
- HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM75900 (injury benefit schemes, including police and firefighters). Accessed 30 September 2026. HMRC says payments from schemes such as those for police and firefighters "can be paid tax-free"; the page does not settle any individual award.
Independent of any force, union or insurer. General information, not regulated financial advice and not a decision on anyone's entitlement. See our source policy and corrections policy.