By Adam Morris
Two groups of police officers embroiled in a pensions crisis have scored a partial victory after months of vehement campaigning, 1919 understands.
Retired officers with ill-health pensions who had been told they would need to repay money – sometimes tens of thousands of pounds – will now have those demands dropped.
And a separate group known as “contingent decision” officers, who were effectively ineligible for retirement due to a complex loophole, have been informed legislation will be amended to allow them to retire on improved terms.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) and the officers themselves gave a cautious welcome to the developments.
Campaigners said the news was a step in the right direction, but warned that many of the developments were still to be officially communicated.
David Kennedy, SPF general secretary, said: “We’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point, and will continue to push both the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) and the Scottish Government to resolve other issues.”
The development came after SPPA boss Dr Stephen Pathirana (pictured above) appeared for a second time in front of MSPs on Holyrood’s finance and public administration committee.
The issue stems from controversial changes made to public sector pensions schemes in 2015 by the UK Government.
Thousands of police officers across the UK were affected by a switch from the well-established 1987 scheme to a less advantageous Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) initiative.
David Kennedy, SPF general secretary
That switch was ruled unlawful years later on age-discrimination grounds, setting in motion a complicated series of events which has left the recalculation of police pension settlements a contentious, expensive and painful process.
However, now two key groups – who either faced a bill of thousands of pounds or were unable to retire on what they see as fair and acceptable terms – finally have a breakthrough.
In December, 1919 reported how far from receiving an enhanced settlement under the age discrimination ruling, a number of Scottish officers were being hit with a bill for repayment.
All were in receipt of ill-health pensions, often attributed to sickness picked up in the process of policing, and their calculation subsequently ruled they had been paid too much.
But now the SPPA has agreed with Scottish Government ministers that these payments will not be pursued.
This follows a similar move south of the border, where English forces – under guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council – were told to consider repayment demands but also to factor in whether a pension recipient had acted “in good faith”.
“This is a really welcome development,” one officer told 1919, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But I need a letter with my name at the top before I start celebrating.”
In addition, a letter from finance minister Ivan McKee to MSPs stated that legislation would be amended to finally resolve the contingent decision officers’ situation.
This is a group who chose to withdraw from the scheme when changes were announced 11 years ago, and who say they should have been allowed back on the original terms – with unbroken service – when the alterations were found to be unlawful.
McKee’s letter states: “We have now identified a solution.
“I have asked the SPPA to take administrative action to enable eligible members to buy back opted-out service during the remedy period, in anticipation of amendments to legislation.
“I recommend the next Scottish Government corrects the position through a Scottish Statutory Instrument as soon as parliamentary time allows.”
Like the group of ill-health retirees, officers who had felt “trapped in the job” said the development seemed hopeful, but are awaiting cast-iron personal confirmation.
The SPF also noted that some officers affected by this, but who have not yet reached retirement age, may have similar problems years down the line.
“I genuinely don’t think solutions for either of these groups would have happened without the support of 1919 Magazine”
Retired superintendent Martin Gallagher
Martin Gallagher, a retired officer who leads the Job’s Forgotten campaign group, said: “The ill-health group are almost there – but they need that proper reassurance this so-called ‘debt’ is written off and their future pension won’t be hammered.
“I’m also grateful to Ivan McKee for identifying a solution with contingent decisions and that these officers should get to now leave.
“I genuinely don’t think solutions for either of these groups would have happened without the support of 1919 Magazine.”
In relation to ill-health officers, a spokesperson for the SPPA said: “At stakeholders’ request and following confirmation of the National Police Chiefs’ Council advised approach for administrators in England and Wales, we reviewed our approach to see whether there was sufficient discretion and evidence to make an exceptional decision in these circumstances.
“Any such decision was beyond the delegated authority of the SPPA and needed to be taken by Scottish ministers.
“Our advice was there was a stateable case for ministers to make the decision to write off the overpayments, and that is the decision they took.
“In supporting this decision, it was important the SPPA followed proper processes to ensure the best use of public funds.”
On contingent decisions, they added: “Because the UK Government decided not to amend the primary legislation, an alternative legislative solution had to be found.
“Contingent decision applications will recommence in anticipation of changes to secondary legislation in the next Scottish Parliament.
“The SPPA is writing to impacted scheme members to notify them that their applications can now progress.”
