The Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) is a statement that is sent to an officer each year up to the point they retire. An ABS shows the value of the benefits that an officer has accrued, benefits that would be payable to their beneficiaries in the event of their death and provides a projection to their normal pension age. All officers should receive an ABS in August.

A Remediable Service Statements (RSS) shows the benefits for both remedy choices for officers in scope for remedy and also details of their contribution position.

A Pension Savings Statement (PPS) is provided to officers where there has been an annual allowance breach and there may be a tax implication.

Officers should remember that tax advice and independent financial advice can be claimed back from forces using the compensation process – speak with your force before spending money on advice.

As all officers subject to remedy have been rolled back into their legacy schemes for the remedy period, they will show the legacy scheme benefits and the alternative reformed scheme benefit position so that officers can keep up to date with how both pension positions are accruing.

The statements will be based on an assumption that officers will remain in service until 60. PFEW made the point that 55 will be of more interest to many officers but they are going to use 60. The Met have used 55 in the 2025 statements that they have produced.

The 55-exit point will have to be dealt with by requesting specific quotes from administrators or the NPCC calculator.

> Calculator - policepensioninfo.co.uk

The contribution position for monies owed by members can be settled within 12 weeks of the ABS/RSS being issued and again the following August and so on – ultimately it can be paid off at retirement. Interest will continue to accrue until the contribution adjustment is settled in full. The current rate of interest is 3.3% - the NS&I Direct Saver Rate.

If you are some way from retirement the ABS/RSS production is an opportunity to ensure that your pension record is correct and to query any discrepancies so that things are correct at your ultimate retirement.

Understanding your RSS at retirement

The second type of RSS is the one that an officer will receive when they come to retire, their options document. This is a very important document and the remedy has made it more complex.

The first decision that needs to be made is which pension option is going to be taken for the remedy period, the legacy scheme or the reformed scheme. In a lot of cases this will be a fairly straightforward decision as there will be an obvious financial difference.

Once that choice has been made then there are several choices available and not all of them are reflected in the RSS’ we have seen. The choices:

• Take no commutation from either pension.
• Take the maximum lump sum from both pensions and pay tax on the 1987 commutation if applicable – there is no tax implication on the 2006 and 2015 commutation.
• Take the maximum tax-free option for the 1987 pension and the maximum commutation from the 2015 pension.

The above three options are the ones that are reflected on the RSS’ we have seen but there is also the option to:

• Take commutation from the 1987 scheme and not the 2015 scheme.
• Take commutation from the 2006 scheme and not the 2015 scheme.
• There is also the ability to reverse that position and take commutation from the reformed scheme and not the legacy schemes.
• Take a commutation amount from the 1987 or 2006 scheme of your choice up to the maximum lump sum amount and take no commutation from the 2015, the maximum from the 2015 or a chosen amount from the 2015 scheme.

There is greater flexibility in the choices available than is reflected in the RSS’ and we will continue to lobby for this to change. If you want to make a choice that is not reflected in the RSS then you will need to contact your pension administrator.