Retention or re-employment of police officers after 30 years' service

Report: 10
Date: 19 April 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

The report provides information about the implications to the MPS of retaining officers beyond 30 years service and of re-employing retired officers. It also describes the work that is being undertaken with Home Office to increase flexibility and seeks endorsement from the MPA to continue this approach.

A. Recommendations

1. The Authority note the contents of the report; and
2. Members endorse the proposal to continue dialogue with Home Office to achieve greater flexibility in the Police Pensions Regulations to encourage officers to stay or rejoin after completing 30 years' service.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. At the full Authority meeting on 8 March 2001, a report was commissioned to consider options for encouraging officers with 30 years' service to remain in service. This paper provides information about the work that had already been commenced at that time and the current position.

2. There is nothing in the Police Regulations or Police Pensions Regulations that specifically precludes the re-employment of police officers who have retired with 30 years' service. The retirement age for ranks up to and including chief superintendent is 55, however, the time of retirement may be postponed up to the age of 60.

3. It needs to be borne in mind that the police pension scheme was designed so as to allow police officers to retire earlier than most other public servants because of the nature of the job. It was recognised that policing placed particular demands on individuals which merited special arrangements. Police officers benefit by being able to retire on pension much earlier than most and for many at an age when they can take up a second career. Police officers may decide to retire by giving one month's notice.

4. Throughout most of the rest of the public sector, the normal retirement age is either 60 or 65 with maximum pension payable being half pay, plus a lump sum.

Retention

5. The maximum service a police officer can accrue for pension purposes is 30 years. Service after 20 years counts as double, so that an officer with 30 years' service is entitled to a pension calculated on the basis of 40/60ths of final pensionable salary, ie: one sixtieth for each of the first 20 years and two sixtieths for each of the next ten years up to 30 years. An officer who goes on to serve 35 years does not accrue additional reckonable service; he or she receives only the benefit of a higher final year's salary on which the pension is calculated. Up to one quarter of the pension may be commuted for a lump sum.

6. Notwithstanding that, many officers remain beyond the normal 30 years' service, as the following table shows.

Ordinary retirements

 *Provisional end-of-year figures

Re-employment

7. As noted above, there is no specific bar to the re-employment of retired police officers. There are, however, a number of factors to be taken into account when considering this possibility:

• an officer who had retired after 30 years' service would have his or her pension withheld during the second period of service, although the commuted lump sum would be paid (Reg. K4, Police Pensions Regulations 1987);
• the second period of service would count towards a second pension entitlement, although the officer could opt out of the pension scheme;
• the officer would have to satisfy the health criteria required of a newly recruited constable by being in good health, of sound constitution and fitted both physically and mentally to perform the duties (Reg. 12, Police Regulations 1995).

Home Office views

8. Work is being carried out within Home Office on the issue of whether there is a case for providing incentives to encourage officers to remain in service after 30 years. The Deputy Commissioner is representing the MPS in these discussions. There will be a need for full scale consultation with the Staff Side on any emerging proposals.

9. Other police services have occasionally re-employed retired officers but not directly back into the job from which they had retired. Because of the size of the MPS and therefore the potential impact of retention or re-employment on Police Pensions regulations, the views of Home Office were sought. Home Office confirmed that whilst the regulations did not prohibit re-employment they were not drafted with immediate re-employment in mind. If re-employment were to become a regular practice, HM Treasury and Inland Revenue had made it clear that the Regulations would need to be changed (presumably to restrict or prohibit the practice).

Other considerations

10. In addition to the general recruitment requirement about fitness, the MPS would also need to undertake a general risk assessment to ensure there were no particular risks about re-employing retired officers who, by definition, would be over the age of 49 at re-employment. The Directorate of Occupational Health would want to be satisfied that there would be no greater risk of injury on duty amongst the older group of officers than amongst younger groups.

11. Although this could be mitigated by special screening and short-term contracts, the employment of larger numbers of older officers could lead to increased retirements on grounds of ill health. There could be consequential substantial increased pension costs arising from enhanced pension benefits. These issues are currently under consideration by the Directorate of Occupational Health.

12. There is a need to consider whether retired officers would need to go through the same process as other recruits, particularly in relation to recruitment tests. The gap between retirement and re-employment would be of significance. The MPS Directorate of Recruitment and Selection is considering whether these retired officers could be regarded as re-joiners and 'fast-tracked' back into the Service.

Conclusion

13. It is proposed, therefore, that the MPS pursues with Home Office the possibility of changes to the Police Pensions Regulations – with Home Office liaising as necessary with HM Treasury and Inland Revenue - so as to provide incentives for officers to stay in service and to provide greater opportunities to re-employ retired officers, subject in both cases to the need for the MPS to be assured of officers' overall fitness to continue to perform the required duties.

14 In the meantime, MPS Personnel Department will consider what impact re-employing retired officers might have on health, health and safety and recruitment criteria.

C. Financial implications

None

D. Background papers

• Police Pension Regulations 1997
• Police Regulations 1995

E. Contact details

The author of this report is Ian Wardrop, Personnel Department.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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