Police Pension Scheme

The arrangements for ill-health retirement under the 1987 Scheme are complex. There is a set order of procedure and before any decision can be made, the Police Force must appoint a duly qualified Medical Practitioner (the 'Selected Medical Practitioner' (SMP) to determine whether you are permanently disabled for ‘the performance of the ordinary duties of a member of the Police Force’. This judgement will be based on a medical examination (unless there are very exceptional circumstances).

Even if you are assessed as permanently disabled for the performance of the ordinary duties of a member of the Police Force, it does not automatically mean that you will be retired on ill-health grounds. The Police Force will consider your specific disabilities and overall capabilities to see whether there are alternative duties which you could undertake whilst remaining a Police Officer.

However, if you are found to be permanently disabled for the ordinary duties of a member of the Police Force, and there are no suitable alternative duties that you could undertake within the Force, they will decide whether to retire you on those grounds. If so, you will be entitled to an immediate ill-health pension and lump sum:

• if you have at least two years' pensionable service and your retirement is on the grounds of permanent disablement; or
• after any length of service if your retirement is on the grounds of permanent disablement resulting from an injury on duty.

An ill-health pension is calculated in a similar way to an ordinary pension and is then normally enhanced to compensate for the lost opportunity of serving until normal retirement. The enhancements applied are shown in the table below. The maximum ill-health pension is 40/60ths this and all enhancement is subject to the condition that pensionable service does not exceed what could have been completed by compulsory retirement age.