I’m jealous that my cousin retired at 55 on a police final salary pension scheme

[Neapolitanicecream]

Just that really. I’m jealous of everyone that has retired on a police final salary scheme from 55 years and I have to work till 67 and not sure what I will get.

I just wish I hadn’t bothered with my degree and never earned much over average. I’d have been much better off joining the force or even a council job apperently.

This post is such a slap in the face of those hard working officers

Why didn’t you become a police officer or get a council job then?

I’m jealous of senior doctor salaries because I’ll never earn that much.
I don’t bitch about them because they deserve high salaries and they’re doing a job I know I couldn’t.

Pension contributions of around 13.5%. it's a good pension... Because of its high contribution rate.

@echt the link you posted explains it all quite well, you could read it.

Some still can with special class status. I'm 51 with four years to go.
It's a ticking timebomb.

I just wish I hadn’t bothered with my degree and never earned much over average. I’d have been much better off joining the force or even a council job apperently.

But would you have got a job with the force or council? They usually require good written communication skills.

I worked for local govt for the first 20 years of my career. i had a much lower salary than my peers and could have earned much more doing the same job in the private sector. however, i wanted to serve the public and i realised that my pension scheme at that time was way better than anything offered in the private sector. so instead of jam today, i went for jam tomorrow. was it the right decision? i dont really know but i took it and paid the maximum amount i could into my pension which i took at 60. swings and roundabouts really.

Have family in the police and it’s truly a thankless job. They’ve seen horrendous things which are scarring to many officers. They contribute a large % to their pensions and deserve every penny.

But that's not what you said. Your saying that teachers can retire at 60 implies that it's the same for everyone, which it isn't. That's also why I was interested in the data around most teachers retiring at this age.

Ok I'll bite . I'll be retiring in two years time at 56 . I'll have done 32 years policing . All of them front line . I have been , bitten , intentionally pricked with a blood filled syringe, had my wrist broken three times , hit by a car , punched , kicked and had some charmer throw the contents of their colostomy bag at me . I go to work knowing that EVERY decision I make will be a) unpopular with someone and b ) likely to be picked over by armchair warriors with no experience of policing whatsoever yet still given credence by social media. Knowing that everyday , every minute , every conversation is likely to be recorded on someone's mobile phone . Knowing that even though I am often working 12 hours plus , someone will complain if they see me getting food , even though every canteen is shut . Knowing that every time I switch that blue light on , I put my personal driving licence on offer , and if an accident occurs , I am likely to be prosecuted . Knowing that the people most likely to ring us , will also be the most likely to vilify us . All of this I accept because I choose to do the job I love . All of its restrictions, expectations all of it , because I still love the job I do .

If you want the same pension as me , then join up . Do what I have done . In 16 years , I've had one Christmas off , and no NYE . None . Choose to miss birthdays and children's milestones . Book your annual leave 18 months in advance . Have at it . Then you can have my pension for the bargain price of 13.75 percent of my career average pension .

I do wonder what exactly is going to happen. Elderly nurses/teachers moved to desk jobs? If that's the intention, what are these jobs? They don't exist now, at least in schools. My fear is that elderly workers, who really shouldn't be made to keep working in their roles as their roles are just not compatible with old age, will be pushed out somehow. Employers will find a way to make them resign, and it will be very unpleasant. The unions should really be striking about this too, the NPA has to come down, or it will be a shit show.

even a council job

Yes, all Local Authority jobs are the worst of the worst, & you would only take one as a last resort when all other routes to success have failed.

Don’t be silly. You’re not engaging your brain. Life is full of choices and things swing in roundabouts. I think you would have found a way to join the police, if this is what you truly truly wanted. And possibly, taken a “council job” had you needed to at the time.

Think @Neapolitanicecream has left the building. This hasn’t gone the way she may have planned.

Well, they have too retire early, a 55 plus year old old bobby isn't much good at chasing young criminals or dealing with violent thugs on a friday night.

Fair play, there is a lot wrong with some forces but by en large thats down to slashing numbers and under funding.

But no way would i like their job.

Most of our emergency services more than earn their pensions. Feel free to join the police if you want their pension. I would love their pension but I'm not prepared to work in dangerous situations and anti social hours. Likewise for the fire brigade.
They do things most of us wouldn't do for twice the salary. How odd to resent them

@echt, you've misquoted me. I said teachers can currently retire at 60, which they can. Teachers who are currently approaching 60, can retire at 60. The fact that teacher retirement age is increasing to 65/67/68, for those not currently approaching 60, and the untenability of that, was the very point of my post.

On the flip side OP, I wouldn’t work for the police even if it meant retiring at 55, I couldn’t do a job that difficult daily! Risking my life, putting myself in danger, being assaulted, verbally abused, spat on etc. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it so I have so much respect for those that do! If they want to retire early on the pensions they’ve paid for, they can!

This. I fully support the police getting this.

I spend quite a bit of my day reading about assaults on first responders, manly the police. No thanks! Not to mention all the awful things they see every day

Mainly!

My husband is a police officer. He was off for 3 months with a mental breakdown with work related stress and has only just recently returned to work. He is the hardest worker I know. Leaves the house at 5am not getting home till past dinner time some nights. Leave cancelled at a moments notice. I could go on but you get my point. He is an incredible person and part of why he does what he does is to help people and for that he deserves to retire earlier in my opinion!

"Even" a council job! How rude.

Well do you want to see loads of police officers having to work until theyre well into their 60s? What about the armed forces?

I get so sick of hearing people whinge about they've got in life. Always comparing to others. If you don't like your life then change it.

Yes i.missed that by a couple of years ,I used to be a mental.healt h nurse and ,those with mental health officer started doubling up.in their pension after 20 years and got a full pension after 30 which they could take at 55! Lucky sods!