Police Pensions Regulations 2015 laid before Parliament
THE Police Pensions Regulations 2015 – introduced on 1 April – have been laid before Parliament
There are 228 points to digest – a Police Federation of England and Wales FAQ document “aimed at helping officers to understand in detail what it means for them” will be published on Friday March 6. Click this link for the document.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/445/contents/made
The Police Federations in the North East region of England and Wales – including South Yorkshire Police Federation – have said they will “seek further legal advice” once the new police pensions regulations are published.
Having previously sought legal advice – independent of the National Federation over the pension changes in 2012 – South Yorkshire Police Federation has vowed to be part of a joint effort to do so again in the near future.
A statement said: “South Yorkshire Police Federation sought independent legal advice in 2012 about the new pension scheme. That advice came back to say that so far the Government were acting lawfully, and that you could not make a legal challenge against something that was not enacted yet.
“The Chairs and Secretaries of the JBBs in Region 2 (Northumbria, Durham, Cleveland, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Humberside & South Yorkshire) met on Monday 26th January. We have decided that when the new police pension scheme regulations are finally published we will thoroughly examine them with expert help, and will seek further legal advice.”
The Fed added: “The Government’s reform of the police pension schemes was never going to be welcome but since then we have been in consultation with them about their proposals to ensure that any new scheme is fit-for-purpose.
“This has never been a negotiation as the Government are not required to negotiate with us on this matter.
“We understand that many members are angry at the Home Secretary’s decision on how this reform impacts on their police pensions.”
Neil Bowles, chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said it was “absolutely appalling that the Government has waited until three weeks before the commencement date before announcing the new regulations and guide.”
“How on earth officers can be expected to plan for their future without this information is beyond me,” he said.
Mr Bowles added: “It is an absolute disgrace. Our members are enraged.
“We are putting on seminars with independent financial advisors to explain the new system and we are appealing to people not to make any rash decisions without getting the advice first.
“As a region we are going ahead with independent legal advice to find out whether it is challengeable or not.”
PFEW has also “instructed Legal Counsel to undertake a review of the new regulations in the context of the consultation process that has taken place and the original legal advice which was obtained in 2012 and 2013.”
On 1 April, the new CARE scheme will replace the final salary scheme and a new pension age of 60 will be introduced for police officers. The majority of officers will be paying 13.44 per cent of their salaries into their pensions.
However, there will be no change in pension age or amount for those who on 1 April 2012 were aged 45 or over, or aged 38 or over and members of the 1987 police pension scheme with 10 years or less to go before retirement with a maximum 30-year pension.
Since publication of the Pension Regulations, the Home Office has published a Members’ Guide to the new scheme. You can see that here http://www.polfed.org/documents/Pensions_Guide_Members_Guide_Final_060315.pdf
The Police Federation of England and Wales has also published a “Frequently Asked Questions” document that it hopes will “go some way to provide answers to our members with their many queries.” You can see that here http://www.polfed.org/documents/Police_Pension_Scheme_2015_FAQs_060315.pdf