The police pension in Scotland is run by SPPA under Scottish rules: 2015 members currently pay a flat 13.7%, and the McCloud remedy has its own process.
SPPA, the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, holds your records and is the free first stop for statements and figures. It says plainly that it "cannot provide financial advice", so an FCA-authorised adviser is the person to ask about your whole position. SPPA's figures can be set beside an adviser's view, something the form on this page arranges for nothing.
Rules that apply to every UK police scheme are on other pages: pension age, the remedy and how much you will get. This page sticks to what SPPA says for Scotland; MoneyHelper's pensions guidance is also free.
What is the Police Scotland pension scheme?
It is a defined benefit scheme for Police Scotland officers. The current one, the Police Pension Scheme 2015, "offers defined benefits at retirement and protection for your dependents based on your career average earnings", according to SPPA. It replaced the older arrangements for new members on 1 April 2015, and SPPA says anyone joining Police Scotland after that date is automatically enrolled; you can still opt out if you choose.
Two older schemes sit behind it. The 1987 scheme closed to new members on 6 April 2006, and the 2006 scheme closed to new members on 1 April 2015. SPPA's remedy pages add that from 1 April 2022 all police members became members of the 2015 scheme and the earlier schemes were closed to any further pension build-up. Many officers therefore hold benefits in more than one scheme.
Police pension scheme 1987, 2006 and 2015 in Scotland: accrual and pension age
| 1987 | 2006 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis | Final salary | Final salary | Career average, revalued by CPI |
| Accrual while building up | 1/60 a year for 20 years, then 2/60 | 1/70 a year | 1/56.1 of pensionable pay a year |
| Normal pension age, claiming from service | 50 with 25 years' service | 55 | 60 |
| Normal pension age, left before claiming | 60 | 65 | State Pension age |
The table is SPPA's, condensed, and each scheme has conditions. In the 1987 scheme, officers claiming from service with 25 years' pensionable service reach normal pension age at 50, and SPPA says you can access benefits before 50 "if you've achieved 30 years’ pensionable service". Reckonable service in that scheme has a limit of 30 years, and the maximum pension is two thirds of final salary. In the 2006 scheme the maximum is half of final salary after 35 years, plus a lump sum of four times the pension.
The 2015 scheme lets you take benefits from 55 on a reduced basis, with your employer's agreement; taking a police pension early explains the reduction. If you have 2015 benefits and leave without claiming them, your normal pension age becomes your State Pension age, and a return to Police Scotland within five years restores it to 60 while you remain an active member.
SPPA publishes a table for officers with service in both the 1987 and 2015 schemes. For total continuous service in both schemes, each year of 1987 service converts at 1/60th for "20 or less" years and rises to 1/45th once the total reaches 30 years. SPPA also describes an "underpin" in the 1987 scheme that keeps that weighted accrual running after an opt-out until your earliest date of potential retirement. It is a separate protection from the McCloud remedy below.
How does the McCloud remedy work in Scotland?
The remedy period runs from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. For that service SPPA says that when you retire it will "offer you a choice between your final salary benefits and your CARE benefits". With your retirement application it sends a choice letter, a Remediable Service Statement (RSS), setting the two out side by side. For active members, SPPA combines it with the annual statement as an ABS-RSS.
You are in scope if you joined the police pension scheme on or before 31 March 2012, were still a member on or after 1 April 2015 and had continuous service; members who left but returned within five years to a public service scheme are included. The legal basis is the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (SSI 2023/239). Active members who paid 2015 scheme contributions in the remedy period are being moved back to their legacy scheme for it, so you will either owe or be owed the difference in contributions.
Retired members get the same choice. SPPA says it is still issuing statements and that "current delivery plans indicate we should complete issuing RSS by the end of March 2027", which is what its page says at the time of writing; the timetable has moved before, so check the page. You need take no action until the letter arrives, but SPPA asks you to keep your contact details up to date. After you return your choice, it aims to process the decision "within six to eight weeks" and says that may not be your next payment.
Contingent decisions are a separate route. At present SPPA accepts only two: buying back into a scheme you opted out of between 12 March 2012 and 28 February 2022 because of the discrimination, and transfers where you would have decided differently. You must apply within 12 months of receiving your RSS. Ticking a box on the RSS is quick, but weighing legacy against CARE for your own years is slower, and an adviser will ring to do it with you free via this page’s enquiry form.
How do I get a Police Scotland pension statement or forecast?
Serving officers get an annual benefit statement automatically, and SPPA says you can see and print it in its online member portal. If you are not eligible for the remedy, it is available "by the end of August each year". It shows what you have built up to the end of the latest financial year, from the service and pay your employer confirms.
For a forecast, SPPA offers a Police Pension Calculator, an Excel file covering the 1987, 2006 and 2015 schemes, including mixed membership. It gives an illustration in today's money at a retirement date you choose and an estimate of the maximum lump sum. It does not cover pensions tax charges, added pension or AVCs, survivor benefits or pension sharing on divorce. Remedy-affected members use a separate Police Remedy Calculator, which SPPA calls "illustrative only" and says is not suitable for people who have already retired.
Where a financial adviser needs your figures and you have left the police, SPPA wants a mandate signed by you; if you are still serving, you pass your own statement on.
SPPA will provide a projected estimate if you are at retirement age, within six months of retiring, need one for redundancy, divorce, ill health or a mortgage application, or cannot use the calculators. A former 1987 or 2006 scheme member who is under minimum pension age, or will not claim within 12 months, can get only an estimate of the pension's current value. When you do retire, allow up to 28 working days for SPPA to process the award once your employer's paperwork reaches it.
Where does the Scottish police pension differ from England and Wales?
Scotland has its own agency, member portal and calculators. The scheme is governed by Scottish Statutory Instruments, including the Police Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (SSI 2015/142), which SPPA says covered officers recruited from 1 April 2015 and those in the older schemes without full or transitional protection; from 1 April 2022 every serving officer builds up pension in the 2015 scheme.
Money differs too. SPPA says Scottish 2015 members "currently pay a flat rate of 13.7%" whatever they earn, with the employer paying 38.7% of pensionable pay; police pension contributions sets out the banded system in England and Wales. For the rest, see police pension death benefits, police pension transfers and topping up a police pension. Tax on the pension is on is a police pension taxable; for divorce see pensions on divorce in Scotland.
Police pension Scotland questions
I started with Police Scotland after April 2015: which scheme am I in?
The 2015 scheme, which replaced the older arrangements for new members on 1 April 2015. The 1987 and 2006 schemes were closed to new members by then.
What are the Police Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2015?
The regulations behind the 2015 scheme, SSI 2015/142 as amended.
Can I keep my 1987 pension if I opt out of the 2015 scheme?
Yes. With at least 25 years' service you can still take 1987 benefits from 50, but SPPA says they will be worked out on your pay at the date you opt out. If you opt out but stay in service, you also lose the final salary link on that pension, so ask SPPA before you decide.
Will SPPA advise which remedy option to pick?
No. It sends the side-by-side figures but cannot give financial advice, and suggests a professional adviser for help with the decision. Your own SPPA figures, set against State Pension and savings, are easier to judge with an adviser; this page's short form requests that call-back.
What if my remediable service statement has not arrived?
SPPA says it will keep sending regular updates to members still waiting, and that no action is needed until the statement comes. Check your details in the member portal.