Dear colleagues,

As promised during recent CEO Roadshows and other events, we are writing to provide an update on the “Pension Trap,” which affects officers who are members of both the 1987 and 2015 Police Pension Schemes.

This situation typically impacts officers who joined the service at a young age, have completed 30 years of service, and wish to retire before the age of 55.

What is the “Pension Trap”?
Under the current pension rules, these officers face a choice whether to defer part of their pension and face a large actuarial reduction for taking the pension before their state pension age or work until the age of 55 or older, when they can take an immediate benefit from the 2015 Pension Scheme with a smaller actuarial reduction. Understandably, many see this as unfair.

What have we been doing?
Over several years, the Federation has raised this issue repeatedly with successive Governments. Despite our efforts, the Government has consistently defended the legislation, maintaining that it is lawful and compliant with existing pension regulations.

What did legal experts tell us?
To ensure we explored all available options, PFEW sought advice from three separate King’s Counsel (KCs) between 2023 and 2025 — each highly experienced in pensions and discrimination law.

Despite our efforts and the clear personal impact on some members, even the strongest test cases we could present were not considered likely to succeed in court.

We asked detailed follow-up questions, tested multiple legal arguments (including age discrimination and pensions law), and ensured no angle was overlooked.

All three reached the same conclusion: there is no realistic or viable legal basis to challenge the Pension Trap.

While, based on what we know, there currently isn’t a claim to pursue, we will continue to monitor the situation and keep our options open.

The legal experts cited the following reasons:

• Pension schemes are legally permitted to set different retirement ages for different groups, such as active and deferred members.
• Officers retiring earlier may receive their pensions for a longer period and, from an actuarial perspective, are not seen to be at a financial disadvantage overall.
• Even where a disadvantage exists, it is lawful for the Government to incentivise officers to serve until age 55.

One of the KCs was directly asked whether they could represent PFEW members in age discrimination claims related to this issue.

Their reply was that they would likely have to decline such instructions. Under the Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct, barristers must not pursue arguments they do not believe are properly arguable — and in their professional opinion, these claims do not meet that standard.

How this differs from past pension litigation
Some members may recall the previous pension discrimination case (known as the Police Pensions Challenge). That case differed in several key ways:

• It involved different issues (transitional provisions, not the structure of the schemes themselves).
• The Federation only took advice from one KC at the time.
• The Tribunal found that the Federation had actively discouraged members from joining the claim.

This time, the National Board has taken a more careful, open, and legally sound approach — consulting three independent experts and not discouraging members from exploring their own legal options.

What happens next?
Based on this consistent and expert advice, PFEW has concluded it cannot support any legal action in relation to the Pension Trap.

While we fully understand and share members’ frustration, we must be honest: under current law, the situation is unfair but not unlawful.

We remain fully committed to fighting for fair pensions and will keep an open mind about taking further action if new cases or fresh evidence emerges. However, we must also be cautious.

If we push too hard to change pension laws, it could backfire — the Government might take that opportunity to introduce a new system that could leave members worse off in the long run.

We know this news will disappoint many of you, but we hope you can see that we are being as open and honest as possible about what is legally achievable.

Alongside this, we continue to work every day to fight for better pay, pensions, and working conditions for you, our members.

Our “Copped Enough” campaign calls for a new settlement for police officers — one that properly values police work and helps ensure safe communities for all.

Your wellbeing and financial security remain at the heart of everything we do.