What Leaving The Police
Actually Costs You
Retention is the defining story of policing in 2026. This is a factual accounting of what resigning today actually forfeits — pension accrual, the 2015 scheme's real value, and how the numbers compare to a role outside policing. Not a recommendation either way.
Independence Statement: Neutral, sourced analysis. This page does not advise you to stay or leave.
Not affiliated with any police force, the Police Federation, or the College of Policing.
Updated: 11 October 2026
The Short Answer
Resigning before your pension's Normal Pension Age doesn't lose you what you've already earned — that's protected. What it stops is further accrual: no more years at the 2015 scheme's 1/55.3 rate, no more CPI+1.25% revaluation as an active member, and in most cases a chunk of what you have banked becomes deferred until State Pension Age rather than payable when you actually leave. Whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on what you'd earn instead, and how much you value that certainty. The calculator below runs your own numbers.
Run Your Own Numbers
What Leaving Actually Costs You
Models the pension value you'd forfeit by resigning today instead of continuing to your scheme's Normal Pension Age — using the site's 1987/2006/2015/Mixed scheme formulas rather than a flat estimate.
The McCloud remedy only applies to members who were already in pensionable service on or before 31 March 2012. If that's you, choose 1987, 2006 or Mixed above.
Enter what a comparable role elsewhere would pay you now. This is your own figure, not a market average.
If you leave today, £7,004/yr of what you've already banked won't be payable immediately: £7,004/yr of 2015 CARE pension from State Pension Age (est. 67). That is years of waiting an alternative employer's pension may not match.
This models real-terms pension income using the same 1987/2006/2015/Mixed scheme accrual as our other tools — not a guarantee. It assumes 2.5% a year salary growth and 2% CPI (illustrative assumptions, not forecasts). The McCloud remedy is not modelled unless you tick it above, so every year since April 2015 is valued at the 2015 CARE rate. It ignores promotion, and the leaver revaluation your scheme administrator applies to a deferred pot may differ slightly from this illustrative figure. Use our full Pension Calculator for a detailed personal projection.
Updated 1 October 2026 - McCloud remedy. If you were in pensionable service on or before 31 March 2012 (with no break over five years), your 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 service is treated as legacy-scheme service and you choose legacy or 2015 CARE benefits for it at retirement. The calculator now has an option to model this and shows both outcomes. With the option unticked, figures are unchanged: every year since April 2015 is valued at the 2015 CARE rate. For a 1987 member the legacy option can be worth more; for a 2006 member the CARE option is often worth more.
Why Retention Is The Story of 2026
The Police Federation's evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body for 2026 makes a specific comparison: private sector roles that draw on the same skills and experience as policing have seen average pay grow by 67% since September 2010, while police officer pay has fallen 22% in real terms over the same period. That gap — not a general sense of being underpaid — is the Federation's central argument for a substantial consolidated pay award, and it's the reason "should I leave" has become one of the most searched questions among serving officers.
HMICFRS's own State of Policing assessments have echoed the workforce side of that story: officer workloads have grown sharply since 2015, fatigue is widespread, and the inspectorate has warned that if the service keeps losing experienced officers to burnout and disillusionment, the public services they deliver will suffer. Read our full HMICFRS State of Policing breakdown for what the inspectorate found.
What You Keep vs What You Lose
You keep
- • Every year of pension already accrued — it's protected by law, not forfeited
- • Inflation protection on the banked amount (CPI uprating continues once in payment, or while deferred)
- • Any tax-free lump sum entitlement built up so far
- • The right to transfer accrued service if you rejoin policing later, within scheme rules
You lose
- • Every future year of 1/55.3 CARE accrual — the fastest rate of any major public sector scheme
- • The extra CPI+1.25% active-member revaluation on your existing pot
- • Immediate access at 55-59: a deferred pension usually isn't payable until much later
- • Automatic progression to top-of-scale pay without needing to apply for promotion
How Does It Compare Elsewhere?
The pension side of the equation only tells half the story — the other half is what you'd actually earn instead. Our Public Sector Career Comparison tool and our Police vs Teacher vs Nurse breakdown both model this against roles with a genuinely similar shift pattern and risk profile. If private-sector pay for comparable skills really has grown 67% since 2010 as the Federation's evidence claims, the gap is worth checking properly before you decide either way.
Considering a Transfer Instead?
If your frustration is with your current force rather than the job itself, a transfer keeps your continuous service and pension accrual intact — none of the forfeiture modelled above applies. See our full Police Transfers Hub, including which forces are best-rated for transferring officers and how the process actually works.
Get Your Exact Numbers
This page models the principle — for a full personal projection including your specific scheme history, commutation options and promotion scenarios, use our full Police Pension Calculator, or check whether the 13% contribution is worth it if opting out — rather than leaving — is what you're actually weighing up.