City of London Police Federation

22/05/2026

Police officers who have given decades of service to this country have had their retirement plans changed overnight.

This week, the Government introduced new commutation factors for officers in the 1987 Police Pension Scheme following a Treasury decision to increase the SCAPE discount rate.

While the terminology may sound technical, the impact on retiring officers is very real.

From today, officers retiring under the 1987 scheme will receive almost 5% less in lump sum payments for giving up the same amount of annual pension than an officer retiring just last week. For many, that represents a loss of thousands of pounds with immediate effect.

What makes this particularly concerning is the speed of the change.
Many officers have only recently received retirement quotations and benefit illustrations based on the previous figures.

Those figures inform major life decisions, mortgages, debt repayments, supporting family members and long-term retirement planning.

Now, with no warning, no transition period and no protections, the goalposts have moved.

The Police Federation is now seeking independent actuarial and legal advice on:
• the scale and justification for the changes
• whether officers who relied on recent quotations may have suffered financial detriment
• What legal remedies may be available

Police Federation National Secretary John Partington said:
“After decades of service, the ‘thanks’ retiring officers get is this: government quietly shaving cash off a hard-earned retirement overnight. It’s a blatant case of picking the pockets of police pensioners, and we will not let it stand.”

Police officers cannot strike. They cannot freely negotiate pay. Throughout their careers, they miss birthdays, rest days, weekends, and family milestones in service to the public.

The least they should expect is certainty and fairness when they retire.

Members, please check your emails for further information and guidance on the changes announced this week.

Add your voice to thousands who have 👇
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=IJTX9mriHUe68V29n-n68x6or_dn_91EhYtIqAFCmSRUM0NKUlVLMTdYQjFUTTNWQzdMNFpXSVVSMSQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

20/05/2026

Upcoming mortgage surgery for colleagues

18/05/2026

Sad news as tributes are paid to Metropolitan Police Officer PC Kev John, who has died suddenly.

PC John began his service as a Special Constable at Kennington, before becoming a full-time Police Officer on in June 2010.

Thoughts are with his family, friends and close colleagues following his death on Wednesday 6 May.

14/05/2026

820,000 rest days – the equivalent of 2,240 years – are owed to Police Officers in the UK

City of London Police Officers are owed 5,047 cancelled rest days

The Metropolitan Police owed the highest number of rest days to its officers: 215,075 days - the equivalent of 589 years.

The next highest was West Midlands Police, with 59,983 rest days owed to officers, followed by Greater Manchester Police with 51,759 rest days owed.

But Lincolnshire Police had a shockingly high ratio of rest days owed considering the size of the force – it owed an average of 42 rest days per officer.

Other smaller forces with high ratios include Bedfordshire Police, which owed 17 rest days per officer, and Cambridgeshire Constabulary, owing 14 rest days per officer.

Even Chief Constables have spoken up about the high demands facing their officers – last summer alone, officers policed more than 3,000 protests across the UK, leading to many cancelled rest days.

In the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)’s latest submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), it proposed a number of measures to clarify how and when cancelled rest days can be re-rostered, including a suggestion to reduce the pay for officers required to work on their rest days.

The NPCC says its proposals protect and promote the taking of rest days and “aim to shift away from a culture that rewards extra hours over wellbeing”.

But the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has responded to this by launching the ‘Hands Off Our Rest Days’ campaign, warning the Government that the police chiefs’ proposals would weaken protections around officers’ rest days.

Commenting on the latest FOI figures, PFEW Chair Tiff Lynch said: “Unsustainable workloads that put officers at risk are, shamefully, the operating model of policing. These figures lay that bare.

“We will not accept the continued erosion of officer safety and health, nor Chiefs whose only answer to this crisis is to make it cheaper and easier to take officers’ rest time away.

“We have already taken enforcement action against forces failing in their legal duty of care, and we will do so again and again until the message hits home.”

A spokesperson for the NPCC said: “The NPCC is working to shift policing away from a culture that rewards extra hours over wellbeing, and we have made a number of proposals to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) designed to protect the ability of officers to take rest days, to support and promote their welfare, as well as to bring clarity and reduce inconsistencies between forces."

Our Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request found that Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors were owed 817,884 rest days as of 1 March 2026.

The true figure is likely to be even higher, as four forces – Gloucestershire Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence Police, Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police – were unable to provide data.

https://www.policeoracle.com/article-library/cancelled-rest-days-and-unsustainable-workloads-are-now-the-operating-model-for-policing/

12/05/2026

Tributes have been paid to Ministry of Defence Police officer PC Mark Chester after he died on his way home from work on Saturday 2nd May.

PC Chester was posted with the MDP Portsmouth Marine Unit and previously worked with Surrey Police.

A colleague said: "Mark was an amazing man and friend to many. Portsmouth is much poorer without him now."

The Care of Police Survivors Charity said: "Thoughts are with PC Chester's family, friends and colleagues at the Ministry of Defence Police at this incredibly difficult time."

Darren Pemble, Chair of Surrey Police Federation, said: "Mark was well liked and had a great sense of humour. He was a good police officer.

"All at Surrey Police Federation offer Mark's family our support and condolences."

11/05/2026

Penny Lancaster has received the Freedom of the City of London today, in recognition of her role as a City of London Special Constable and her support for charitable causes.

https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/penny-lancaster-receives-freedom-of-the-city-of-london/

11/05/2026

Upcoming webinar will bring together stakeholders to address the current challenges, priorities, and developments facing Detectives across policing.

https://pfewevents.org/detectives-online-seminar

07/05/2026

‘Trauma trackers’ to monitor toll of job on police officers in England and Wales. Ministers to mandate use of tools that record individuals’ cumulative exposure to harrowing incidents

Ministers to mandate use of tools that record individuals’ cumulative exposure to harrowing incidents

02/05/2026

A shocking 15% of police officers have missed out on meals due to financial worries - with 32% thinking of leaving the service due to financial insecurity.

The latest Police Family Finance Index Report has highlighted ongoing concerns around long-term financial security across the police workforce.

The findings point to a growing trend driven by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with rising housing costs, inflation, and stagnant real-term pay forcing many officers to make difficult short-term financial decisions - often at the expense of their future.

Younger officers are particularly affected. Those under 35 are significantly more likely to both consider and act on pension opt-outs, highlighting a potential long-term generational impact on retirement outcomes.

The report, published by Police Friendly and based on over 13,500 responses from across the UK police family, also highlights:

• 68% of police officers report current financial concerns
• 56% say their financial situation has worsened over the past year
• Nearly 4 in 10 are in significant debt when housing costs are included
• 46% of police officers have considered opting out of their pension in the past 12 months, and new survey renewals, with 7% going on to stop contributions altogether.

With many officers reporting they have less than £100 left at the end of each month, pension contributions - often a substantial deduction from take-home pay - are increasingly viewed as unaffordable in the short term.

Tiff Lynch, National Chair of Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We’ve seen again this week the very real dangers officers face; bravery and selflessness, running towards danger to protect the local community.

"What the public aren’t told is that those same officers are doing it on pay that means they struggle to pay the bills.

"Up to 10,000 officers may already have stopped paying into their pensions just to get through the month.

“This is not sustainable. A minimum 7 per cent annual pay award for the next three years is both fair and affordable because the alternative is losing experienced officers and putting public safety at risk.”

More here https://www.metfriendly.org.uk/metfriendly-police-family-finance-index-report-spring-2026/

01/05/2026

from Sergeant Sibyl Beaumont and colleagues as Man jailed for carrying knife in the City

https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2026/april/man-jailed-for-carrying-knife-in-the-city/

27/04/2026

The Government is committed to improving officer wellbeing, Police Minister Sarah Jones has told the Response Policing Conference.

Acknowledging that response officers face “one of the most important and challenging roles in policing”, she said they will receive extra wellbeing support.

The Police Minister told delegates at the conference in Manchester: “In seeing and dealing with the worst side of humanity, we should never lose sight of the mental and emotional toll protecting the communities you serve takes on you. I am clear that police wellbeing must be prioritised to ensure you can be motivated and you can thrive.

“[We will be] working really closely with the National Police Wellbeing Service and the Chief Medical Officer for policing to set national mandatory targets in police wellbeing provision, and begin delivery of an enhanced trauma support package, this year.

“We will also expand the use of psychological risk assessments to high-risk roles, including response officers, given the frequency and nature of traumatic incidents.

“Many members of the public will only ever experience the police as a victim or a witness of crime. Response officers are at the forefront of their experience. Your empathy and professionalism in supporting victims and witnesses of crime are instrumental in growing and maintaining positive perceptions of the police service as a whole.”

She said police reforms detailed in this year’s White Paper will establish a clear and consistent structure for officers, supporting learning, training, and professional development, with a greater emphasis being placed on allowing time for both personal development and wellbeing.

She added: “This government is committed to ensuring that police officers receive the support they need to deliver the service the public expects.”