The Police Pensions Regulations 1987

Part L Payments by and to Police Authorities

Authorities responsible for payment of awards

L1.—(1) An award which is payable to or in respect of a person by reason of his having served as a regular policeman shall be payable by the police authority of the force in which he last served as such.

(2) An award which is payable to or in respect of a person by reason of his having been injured while serving as a member of a police force other than a regular policeman shall be payable by the police authority of the force in which he was serving when he received the injury.

Funds out of which and into which payments are to be made

L2.—(1) All payments for the purposes of these Regulations made by or to a police authority (including the Secretary of State as police authority for the metropolitan police district) shall be paid out of or into the police fund except in so far as is otherwise provided by the following paragraphs.

(2) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament—

(a) any award to or in respect of a person who last served as commissioner of police of the metropolis, and

(b) any transfer value payable in respect of such a person.

(3) There shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund—

(a) any transfer value received in respect of a person who has become commissioner of police of the metropolis, and

(b) the pension contributions (including additional and further contributions) paid by the said commissioner,

and, on a member of the metropolitan police force becoming commissioner of police of the metropolis, a payment shall be made out of the metropolitan police fund into the Consolidated Fund of an amount equal to the transfer value which would have been payable had the member in question instead transferred to another police force.

(4) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament or, as the case may be, into the Consolidated Fund all payments for the purposes of these Regulations made by or to the Secretary of State by reason that he is treated as the police authority in relation to—

(a) an overseas policeman;

(b) an inspector or assistant inspector of constabulary;

(c) a central police officer.

(5) Paragraph (1) shall not extend to Scotland.

Payment and duration of awards

L3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, in particular, of—

(a) Regulation B1(5) (limitation on payment of an ordinary pension to a person entitled to reckon less than 30 years' pensionable service);

(b) Regulation B4(2) (limitation on payment of an injury pension to a person who ceased to serve before becoming disabled);

(c) Regulation B5(4) (limitation on payment of a deferred pension);

(d) Regulation J1 (policeman with a guaranteed minimum for the purposes of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975);

(e) Part K (revision and withdrawal or forfeiture of awards), and

(f) paragraph 9(3)(a) of Part I of Schedule J (pension by way of equivalent pension benefit),

the pension of a member of a police force shall be payable in respect of each year as from the date of his retirement.

(2) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, in particular, of—

(a) Regulation D5(3) to (6) (limitations on child’s allowance), and

(b) Regulation J1 (policeman with a guaranteed minimum for the purposes of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975)

a widow’s pension or child’s allowance shall be payable in respect of each week as from the death of the husband or, as the case may be, the parent or, in the case of an allowance payable to a posthumous child, as from the birth of the child, except—

(i) where the husband or parent was in receipt of a pension and dies during a period in respect of which he has already received his pension, in which case the pension or allowance shall not be payable before the end of that period;

(ii) where the husband or parent has received a gratuity other than an injury gratuity under Regulation B4, in which case the pension or allowance shall be payable as from such time as the police authority may, in their discretion, determine to be reasonable, not being more than a year after his death, having regard to all the circumstances, including the amount of the gratuity.

(3) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, in particular, of—

(a) Regulation C7(2)(a) (widow’s temporary pension);

(b) Regulation C9 (termination of widow’s award on remarriage etc.);

(c) Regulation D5(3) to (6) (limitations on child’s allowance);

(d) Regulation E1(3) (adult dependent relative’s special pension);

(e) Regulation J1(2), (3)(b) and (4) (policeman with a guaranteed minimum for the purposes of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975), and

(f) Part K (revision and withdrawal or forfeiture of awards),

a pension or allowance shall be payable for life and shall be discharged by payments in advance at such reasonable intervals as the police authority may, in their discretion, determine except that payment on account of a pension or allowance may be delayed, in whole or in part, pending the determination of any question as to the liability of the police authority in respect thereof, including any question as to the continuance of that liability.

(4) Where a person dies after receiving a sum paid in advance on account of a pension or allowance, neither the said sum nor any part thereof shall be recoverable although referable to a period after his death.

(5) Where a widow remarries after receiving a sum paid in advance on account of a pension, neither the said sum nor any part thereof shall be recoverable although referable to a period after her remarriage.

(6) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, a gratuity, lump sum or award by way of repayment of aggregate pension contributions shall become payable as soon as the entitlement thereto arises and shall be paid forthwith in one sum except that—

(a) payment on account thereof may be delayed, in whole or in part, pending the determination of any question as to the liability of the police authority in respect thereof, and

(b) where the police authority are satisfied that it would be for the advantage of the beneficiary to pay a gratuity in instalments, they may pay it in instalments of such reasonable amounts and over such reasonable period as they think fit.

Payment of awards otherwise than to beneficiary and application of payments

L4.—(1) This Regulation shall apply to the payment of any award to or in respect of a member of a police force, whether a pension, allowance, gratuity or other award, and any reference therein to the beneficiary is a reference to the person to whom, this Regulation apart, the award is payable.

(2) Where the beneficiary is a minor, the police authority may, if they think fit, in lieu of paying any sum on account of an award to the minor, pay it to such other person as they may determine.

• A person who receives any sum in pursuance of this paragraph shall, subject to and in accordance with any directions of the police authority, apply the said sum for the benefit of the minor.

(3) On the death of the beneficiary to whom a sum is due on account of an award which does not exceed £5,000 or such higher amount as may from time to time be prescribed for the purposes of section 6 of the Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965(1), the police authority may, without probate, confirmation or any other formality or proof of title, pay the said sum to the persons appearing to the authority to be beneficially entitled to the personal estate of the deceased or, as the authority think fit, pay the said sum to one or more of those persons or distribute it among all or any of those persons in such proportions as the authority may determine.

(4) Where it appears to the police authority that a beneficiary is by reason of mental disorder or otherwise incapable of managing his affairs, in lieu of paying any sum on account of an award to that beneficiary—

(a) they may, in their discretion, pay it in whole or in part to a person having the care of the beneficiary or such other person as they may determine, and

(b) in so far as they do not so discharge their liability in respect thereof, the authority shall apply it in such manner as they think fit for the benefit of the beneficiary or his dependants.

A person who receives any sum in pursuance of sub-paragraph (a) shall, subject to and in accordance with any directions of the police authority, apply the said sum for the benefit of the beneficiary or his dependants.

(5) Where, as a result of any fraud, theft or negligence on the part of a regular policeman in connection with his service as such, a loss has occurred to the fund out of which an award is payable to him, in lieu of paying the whole or any part of any sum on account of the award to that beneficiary, the police authority may, if they think fit but subject to paragraph (6), apply it in making good the loss by retaining it in that fund:

• Provided that the aggregate amount retained in pursuance of this paragraph shall not exceed whichever is the less of the following amounts, namely—

  (a)

  the amount which is the actuarial value, at the time of the first retention, of the sums then or prospectively due to the regular policeman on account of the award, and

  (b)

  the amount of the said loss,

  and, in the event of any dispute as to the amount of that loss, the power conferred by this paragraph shall not be exercisable save to the extent of any sum adjudged due to the police authority in respect of the loss by an order of a competent court.

(6) Where the police authority exercise the power conferred by paragraph (5) they shall furnish the regular policeman concerned with a certificate showing the amount retained and the effect on the award and—

(a) where the award is an ordinary, short service or ill-health pension and the sum due on account thereof is in respect of a period beyond state pensionable age, only so much of that sum as is due on account of the unsecured portion of the pension may be retained and applied as mentioned in paragraph (5), and

(b) where the regular policeman is entitled to reckon pensionable service otherwise than by reason of service as a member of a police force, only the following proportion of any sum due on account of the award may be so retained and applied, that is to say, the proportion which his pensionable service reckonable by reason of service as a member of a police force bears to his total pensionable service.

(7) A police authority shall obtain a good discharge by paying or applying any sum in the manner provided by this Regulation.

(8) In the application of this Regulation to Scotland—

(a) the references in paragraph (2) to a minor shall be construed as including references to a pupil, and

(b) the reference in paragraph (3) to the personal estate of the deceased shall be construed as a reference to his movable estate.

(1)

1965 c. 32.