Police Retire and Rejoin Calculator

Compare retiring fully with retiring and rejoining as an officer: your pay, the pension left after abatement, income tax on both together, National Insurance on the pay and 2015 scheme contributions, monthly and annual.

The short version: on our example figures (a £26,000 pension and rejoining full time at the top of the constable scale), full abatement leaves you about £11,985 a year better off than retiring fully. If the force paid both in full it would be £28,680, but that is the exception. Read the full guide.

Free, nothing stored
2026/27 tax, NI and contribution rates
Rules checked 21 October 2026

Take-home, a month, 2026/27 tax rates

Retire fully: £1,943; pension only, after tax
Retire and rejoin: £2,942; pay plus pension left, after deductions
Difference: +£999; a month from going back
Pension stopped: £2,167; while you serve; restored when you leave

Your details

Police pension a year, gross (£)

The annual pension on your retirement letter or payslip, after any commutation and before tax. Add your legacy and 2015 pensions together.

Of which 2015 scheme pension (£ a year)

A 2015 scheme pension is never abated, so only the rest can be stopped. Enter 0 if your pension is all 1987 or 2006.

Lump sum taken (£, for information)

Abatement does not touch the lump sum and you do not pay it back. It is not used in the sums.

Pay just before you retired, a year (£)

Basic pensionable pay. Only used for the capped option.

Coming back

Pick a 2026/27 pay point (optional)

England and Wales scales, outside the Met and City for inspector ranks. Or type a salary below.

New full-time salary a year (£)

Hours a week (full time is 40)

Pay is pro-rated. West Midlands Police, for one, does not reduce abatement for part-time hours.

What happens to your pension while you serve

2015 scheme on the new pay

Where you pay income tax

I am over State Pension age (no National Insurance on pay)

Side by side

Retire fully compared with retire and rejoin, a month
A month	Retire fully	Rejoin
Police pay	£0	£4,335
Police pension paid£2,167 stopped while serving	£2,167	£0
2015 pension contributions13.88% of pay, taken before tax	£0	-£602
Income taxon pension and pay added together	-£224	-£537
National Insuranceon pay only, never on pension	£0	-£254
Take-home	£1,943	£2,942

Your lump sum of £150,000 is the same in both columns. Abatement does not touch it.
Staying in the 2015 scheme builds roughly £941 a year of extra pension for each year you serve (before revaluation), payable under the 2015 scheme rules. It counts towards your annual allowance.
The pension that is stopped is not lost: it is paid in full again when you leave.

Check with your administrator before you decide

Only 1987 and 2006 scheme pensions can be abated. A 2015 scheme pension cannot, but if you re-enter the 2015 scheme within 28 days of leaving, regulation 100 stops it and makes what was paid recoverable.
Whether and how much is abated is your force’s decision under its own policy. Ask for its method in writing.
If you retired from the 1987 scheme aged 50 to 54, a quick return can cost a 40% tax charge. Read the protected pension age guide first.

Useful next

Not retired yet? Estimate the pension and lump sum you would retire on with the free police pension calculator.
How the pension and new pay share one Personal Allowance and two tax codes: tax on your police pension.
The full rules, force by force: police retire and rejoin explained.

Estimate only, not financial or tax advice. One full tax year at 2026/27 rates (income tax and employee Class 1 National Insurance from the site’s shared pay engine; 2015 scheme contributions at the England and Wales bands in force from 1 April 2026, or Police Scotland’s flat 13.7% if you pick Scotland; Northern Ireland uses the England and Wales income tax bands and we have not checked PSNI’s own contribution rates). It assumes the standard Personal Allowance with no other income, allowances, overtime or student loan and taxes the year as a whole, so in-year PAYE on two tax codes can differ. Everything is worked out in your browser; nothing you enter is sent or stored.

The rules behind the numbers

The three abatement options

Option	Where it comes from	How common
Pension stopped in full	NPCC guidance (July 2022): the default is pay only for hours worked. West Midlands abates except in exceptional circumstances	Most published force policies
Capped at pay before retirement	Home Office 1987 members' guide: pension plus new pay no more than pay before retirement	Some forces may use it; Cambridgeshire lets the Chief Constable relieve abatement in part
Paid in full	Allowed with strong justification, such as a skills shortage; the force pays an equal amount into the pension fund	Exceptional

Only 1987 and 2006 scheme pensions can be abated (1987 reg K4, 2006 reg 52) and only while you serve as an officer. A 2015 scheme pension has no abatement rule, so enter any 2015 part in its own box: the calculator never stops it, whichever option you pick. The full rules are in does my pension stop if I rejoin?

How tax, NI and contributions are worked out

Income tax uses the same 2026/27 bands as the site’s salary calculator, on pension and pay added together, with the Personal Allowance tapered above £100,000.
Employee Class 1 National Insurance is charged on the pay only. There is no National Insurance on pension income and none on pay once you reach State Pension age.
2015 scheme contributions use the England and Wales bands in force from 1 April 2026 (12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22% of pensionable pay), taken before tax. If you pick Scotland we use Police Scotland’s flat 13.7%.
Northern Ireland uses the same income tax bands as England and Wales. We have not checked PSNI’s own contribution rates, so the England and Wales rates are used.
The "new pension built" line uses the 2015 scheme accrual rate of 1/55.3 of pensionable pay, before revaluation.

What the calculator cannot check for you

The break. If you retired from the 1987 scheme aged 50 to 54, coming back too soon can cost your protected pension age and bring a 40% tax charge. Read the 1987 scheme guide.
The 28-day rule. Re-entering the 2015 scheme within 28 days of leaving stops a 2015 pension and makes payments recoverable. Read the 2015 scheme guide.
Your force’s decision. Whether your pension is abated (and by how much) is decided case by case. See the force tracker.
Your tax codes. HMRC usually sets the Personal Allowance against one source, so monthly deductions can look uneven even when the year adds up.

Assumptions

One full tax year, with no other income, overtime, allowances, student loan or salary sacrifice.
Full time is 40 hours a week; pay is pro-rated for fewer hours. The capped method compares your actual pay, after pro-rating, with your pay before retirement. Ask your force which figures it uses.
The pension you enter is the annual amount after commutation. Pension increases during the year are ignored.
The pay points offered are the 2026/27 England and Wales scales on the site, outside the Met and City for inspector ranks.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get my police pension and salary if I retire and rejoin?

Usually not both in full. A 1987 or 2006 scheme pension can be withdrawn in whole or part while you serve as an officer and NPCC guidance from July 2022 makes pay only for hours worked the default. A 2015 scheme pension is not abated. The calculator lets you try full, capped and no abatement.

How is the pension and salary taxed?

Pension and pay are added together for income tax. National Insurance is charged on the pay only, never on the pension. 2015 scheme contributions come off the pay before tax. The calculator works out a full tax year at 2026/27 rates; in-year PAYE on two tax codes can differ.

What does the capped option mean?

It is the method the Home Office's 1987 members' guide recommends: withdraw enough pension that pension plus new pay does not exceed your pay before retirement. If your new pay is the same as or more than your old pay, the whole pension is withdrawn under this method.

Does part-time work reduce the abatement?

Not necessarily. The calculator pro-rates your pay for the hours you enter, but West Midlands Police, for example, does not partly abate for part-time hours, so choose the option that matches your force's written decision.

Is my lump sum affected?

No. Abatement does not touch a lump sum already paid, so the calculator shows it for information only. The exception is the 2015 scheme's 28-day rule: re-entering the scheme within 28 days of leaving makes pension and lump sum paid recoverable.

Should I opt out of the 2015 scheme when I rejoin?

That is your decision. Opting out raises take-home pay but you build no new 2015 pension while you serve. The calculator shows both. Whether regulation 100 applies if you opt out is something we could not confirm, so ask your administrator.

Is anything I enter stored?

No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us or saved.

Main sources (checked 21 October 2026)

PolicePay.co.uk is independent and not affiliated with any force, the Home Office, the NPCC or any pension administrator. Figures are estimates, not financial, tax or pension advice. Your force and scheme manager decide abatement; check with your administrator before you decide.