Police Pensions Act 1976
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1976 c. 35 |
| Year | 1976 |
Police Pensions Act 1976
1976 CHAPTER 35
An Act to consolidate the Police Pensions Act 1948 and certain other enactments relating to the pensions to be paid to and in respect of members of police forces.
[22nd July 1976]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Police pensions regulations.
(1) Regulations to be made by the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service and after consultation with the Police Council for the United Kingdom, shall make provision—
(a ) as to the pensions which are to be paid to and in respect of members of police forces, whether as of right or otherwise;
(b ) as to the contributions in respect of pension rights which are to be made by members of police forces; and
(c ) as to the times at which and the circumstances in which members of police forces are or may be required to retire otherwise than on the ground of misconduct.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1) above, any such regulations shall provide for the payment subject to the regulations—
(a ) of pensions to and in respect of persons who cease to be members of a police force after having served for such period as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(b ) of pensions to and in respect of persons who cease to be members of a police force after such shorter period as may be prescribed by the regulations by reason of infirmity of mind or body;
(c ) of pensions to and in respect of persons who cease to be members of a police force by reason of injury received in the execution of their duty;
(d ) of pensions to and in respect of persons who cease to be members of a police force on the ground of age; and
(e ) of pensions in respect of persons who die while serving as members of police forces.
(3) Regulations made under this section may contain such consequential or incidental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient, including, in particular, provision as to the cases in which pensions are to be—
(a ) varied, suspended, terminated or forfeited; or
(b ) applied otherwise than by being paid to the persons to whom they were awarded;
and may provide for a pension to be forfeited wholly or in part and for the forfeiture to be permanent or temporary.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) above, the provision which may be made by regulations under this section with respect to forfeiture shall include provision by reference not only to the fact that a person to whom a pension has been awarded has committed and been convicted of an offence as specified in the regulations but also to the fact that the offence in question has been certified by a Minister of the Crown either to have been gravely injurious to the State or to be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.
(5) Regulations made under this section may be framed so as to have effect as from a date earlier than the making of the regulations.
(6) The power to make regulations under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
2 Application of regulations to existing members.
(1) Any regulations made under section 1 above shall be so framed as to secure, for existing members of police forces, the results—
(a ) as to compulsory age of retirement, and
(b ) as to scale of pensions payable under the regulations,
specified respectively in subsections (2) and (3) below.
(2) The result as to compulsory age of retirement referred to in subsection (1) above is that the times at which an existing member of a police force is or may be required under the regulations to retire on the ground of age do not, unless he at any time elects otherwise, differ from those which would have been applicable in his case if the regulations in question had not come into force.
(3) The result as to scale of pensions referred to in subsection (1) above is that the scale of pensions payable under the regulations to an existing member of a police force who ceases to be a member of that police force either—
(a ) after having served for any period prescribed by the regulations in question, or
(b ) by reason of infirmity of mind or body (not being due to injury received in the execution of his duty) after having served for any shorter period so prescribed,
is not, unless he elects otherwise within such time and in such manner as may be so prescribed, less favourable than the scale applicable in his case immediately before the coming into force of the regulations.
(4) Regulations made under section 1 above shall not be invalid by reason that in fact they do not secure the results specified in subsections (2) and (3) above, but if the Secretary of State is satisfied, or it is held by the High Court or by the Court of Session, that any such regulations have failed to secure those results, the Secretary of State shall so soon as may be make...
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