Explanatory note

These Regulations make various amendments to the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”) to make the wording of those Regulations more consistent with that of the Police Pensions Regulations 2006.

The Regulations also amend the 1987 Regulations to give senior police officers the right to retire on or after reaching the age of 50 years, if they give 6 months notice to the police authority and are not subject to any disciplinary proceedings. This amendment has effect from 1st April 2004 until 30th September 2006 only. Retrospective effect is permitted by section 1(5) of the Police Pensions Act 1976.

The Regulations amend the 1987 Regulations to allow a police authority to disapply the regulation which limits the size of lump sum for which a police officer with less than 30 years’ service can commute his or her pension, in the limited circumstance where the officer retires one day before reaching 30 years’ service, and below the age of 50.

The Regulations amend the 1987 Regulations, the Police Pensions Regulations 2006 and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 to enable a party to a medical appeal to recover from the other party any expenses incurred as result of the cancellation or postponement of an appeal hearing, where the cancellation or postponement occurs less than 22 days before the hearing date and is the fault of that other party.

The Regulations also make related amendments to the 1987 Regulations, the Police Pensions Regulations 2006 and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.