The police pension remedy lets eligible officers choose, for service from 1 April 2015 until 31 March 2022, between old-scheme and 2015-scheme benefits.

The McCloud/Sargeant court cases found that the protection given to older members when public service pensions were reformed was unlawful age discrimination; the government accepted that this reached the police schemes too, and the remedy is the fix. It does not change what you pay or receive overnight: it gives you a choice, and the choice is usually made at retirement. What follows is the Home Office's and the regulations' own account for England and Wales. Your force's pension administrator holds your figures. Legacy or 2015 for the remedy period? Serving and retired officers alike can weigh that with an FCA-authorised adviser, phoning back free, by sending this page's form.

What the remedy is and where it came from

The Home Office's consultation paper explains that when public service pensions were reformed between 2014 and 2016, members close to retirement kept their old scheme or moved across gradually. In December 2018 the Court of Appeal found that the transitional protections unlawfully discriminated against younger members of the judicial and firefighters’ schemes, and in July 2019 the government accepted that the ruling had implications for the police schemes too. It was the transitional protection that was found discriminatory, not the 2015 scheme itself.

The fix came in two phases. The first, from 1 April 2022, closed the 1987 and 2006 schemes to new pension building and moved every serving officer into the 2015 scheme. The second, the retrospective remedy, deals with the years in between and took effect on 1 October 2023 through the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/831). The consultation outcome on GOV.UK, last updated 10 August 2023, sums up the aim: "Eligible members will be able to choose to receive legacy pension scheme benefits or benefits equivalent to those available under the 2015 reformed scheme for service during the remedy period."

The remedy period runs from 1 April 2015 until 31 March 2022. For how the schemes compare as a whole, see how the 1987, 2006 and 2015 police schemes differ.

Who is in scope of the police pension scheme remedy?

The consultation paper sets two tests. A member must have been in pensionable public service on or before 31 March 2012 and on or after 1 April 2015, and without a disqualifying break, which it defines as a gap of longer than five years in the remedy period. Members who first joined pensionable public service on or after 1 April 2012 are out of scope. Earlier service in another public service scheme can count, so an officer who joined the police after April 2012 but had pensionable service elsewhere on or before 31 March 2012 may still be covered.

The same paper says the remedy covers active members, deferred members, pensioners and people entitled to a dependant's pension or death lump sum after a member who died. Whether your own service qualifies is a question for your force's pension administrator.

The choice itself: two ways to count the same years

For remedy-period service you pick between old-scheme benefits (1987 or 2006, whichever applied to you) and 2015-scheme benefits. The consultation paper adds a detail that surprises people: "All benefits accrued in the remedy period will be paid from the legacy scheme, regardless of the member choice, but will be calculated according to the scheme that has been chosen." Service after 31 March 2022 stays in the 2015 scheme either way, which is why many officers end up with a mix. How the 2015 sums work is covered in how much a police pension pays.

The regulations say a choice covers all remediable service in a particular police employment, not year by year. Which version comes out ahead can depend on pay history, length of service, retirement age and family circumstances.

Already retired? The immediate choice

Officers who were drawing a pension on 1 October 2023, and the representatives of those who had died, make what the regulations call an immediate choice. They do not wait for retirement. Under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, section 7, the choice must be made before "the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which a remediable service statement is first provided", or a later time the scheme manager considers reasonable. The regulations add that "An immediate choice decision is irrevocable."

The Home Office consultation paper warns what that can mean for money already received: the approach "could lead to an increase, a decrease or no change in the benefits already received, and that could then lead to implications for a member’s tax liabilities". It also says calculations using commutation or early-retirement factors should use those that applied at the original retirement date. A decision that cannot be undone deserves care, so a retired officer may want an FCA-authorised adviser to read the statement alongside them; this page's form arranges that call, which costs nothing.

Still serving or deferred: the deferred choice underpin

Active and deferred members are given a deferred choice underpin (DCU): the decision waits until benefits are about to be paid. The regulations set the timetable:

  • You notify the scheme that you intend to claim "during the period between 6 and 3 months before the date M intends such benefits to become payable", unless the scheme manager allows another period.
  • Your remediable service statement is then issued, and you have until "the end of the day 12 weeks after that date" to decide, unless the scheme manager allows longer or benefits become payable sooner.
  • A choice you make can be revoked "up to 10 working days before benefits become payable".

If you have not chosen by the end of that window, the scheme does not simply default to the old scheme. The regulations say a choice for 2015-scheme benefits is treated as made where it appears to the scheme manager, after consulting the scheme actuary, that "the value of reformed scheme benefits payable if a section 10 election is made is greater than the value of legacy scheme benefits". Otherwise legacy benefits apply. If you die before drawing your pension, the regulations set out who makes the choice instead; see police pension on death for the benefits themselves.

Retiring soon, or thinking about leaving early? Pension age is a separate question: when a police pension can be taken has the ages.

What your remediable service statement contains

The Act says a remediable service statement must include "a description of the benefits currently available under the scheme in respect of the relevant service" and a description of the benefits that would be available if an election were made, plus when and how an election can be made. For immediate choice cases the regulations add information about the irrevocability of the decision; for deferred members, about when a deferred choice can and cannot be revoked.

On timing, the Act requires the first statement by "the relevant date", meaning the day after a period of 18 months from the remedy rules starting (1 October 2023 for police), or a later day the scheme manager considers reasonable for a member or class of members. After that, an active member must receive one at least once a year, and a deferred member can ask for one, once in any 12 months; the police regulations give the scheme three months to respond to such a request. The regulations also require a further statement, as soon as reasonably practicable, once a deferred member tells the scheme they intend to claim.

Anything in the statement that you cannot follow is a fair question for the administrator. How the statement sits beside your other savings and your planned retirement date deserves a second view, which an FCA-authorised adviser gives by phone at no charge when you leave details in this page's form.

Contributions and tax adjustments

Moving remedy-period service between schemes changes what you should have paid in contributions. The consultation paper expects virtually all eligible members to have a contributions adjustment: some will owe money, others be owed it, with interest, and settled either at the start or taken from the benefits at retirement. Under the regulations, 2015-scheme added pension bought during the remedy period is cancelled and refunded as compensation, less an amount for the tax relief it received. For general police tax rules see police pension tax, and for the pay-in side see police pension contributions. Your own record is what decides which side of that adjustment you fall on.

Does the remedy reach Scottish and Northern Ireland officers?

The Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 "extend to England and Wales". Scottish officers are covered by the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/239), and Northern Ireland officers by the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/122), so the details can differ; ask your own scheme's administrator. Police pensions in Scotland covers the Scottish scheme more widely.

Compensation claims and the "injury to feelings" cases

Pension choice and compensation for upset are separate matters. The Police Federation of England and Wales brought a group claim for members who say they suffered injury to feelings from the 2015 changes, and says "The application process for the Group Compensation Claim has closed." Its April 2026 update, still the latest update shown on its page, records that a hearing on 20 March 2026 considered administrative issues and made no decision on the substance, with the next preliminary hearing, on the question of time, listed for 17-26 May 2027. Whether you are already a claimant is a matter for the Federation or your legal adviser, not for the pension administrator.

Police pension remedy questions

Can I use the Home Office calculator to compare remedy options?

The Home Office's police pensions calculator, last updated 2 February 2021, before the remedy regulations were made, gives "an illustration of your pension at a chosen retirement age" and "is for guidance purposes and is an estimate only." In 2023 the Home Office said the Government Actuary's Department was working with police employers on a timeline for a remedy calculator, so ask your force's administrator what comparison tools it offers now. Your remediable service statement is the personal comparison.

What happens if I do nothing?

Before the deadline, nothing is decided for you and the options remain open. Afterwards the deemed-election rule above applies, so reply to the statement rather than waiting.

Is the remedy the "police pension trap" officers talk about?

The court found the transitional protection unlawful, and the remedy responds with a choice rather than a cut. Which scheme comes out better for one officer depends on their own service and pay.

Do I have to claim this myself?

The scheme manager has to provide the statements; you do not apply to be included. A deferred member can request one once in any 12 months, and an active member receives them yearly.

Are other public-sector schemes treated the same way?

Each scheme has its own rules. For the equivalents, see the armed forces and NHS remedy pages.

Free help starts with your force's administrator and MoneyHelper; an officer who wants more can put the remedy questions to an FCA-authorised adviser after using the form here.