3 things helped me.
1. 6 figure savings. I was never one to waste it on impressing the neighbours with cars or holidays. This sum is the crucial one, without which I would still be working. Prior planning prevents pith poor pension.
2. Getting badly assaulted on duty and having my elbow smashed while protecting a lollipop lady from being assaulted herself by an irate motorist. I could have strung it along for a few more years driving a desk, and did indeed for a year or two. However, thanks to that nodder Tom Winsor I risked being financially penalised for not being a fully operational copper. Screw him, so I cashed in on the medical retirement process, which with 28 years reckonable service (including 4 from the Army) bumped me up to full pension, plus a band B injury award.
Make no mistake, if it weren't for Tom Winsor I'd still be there working, but his idea to save the Government a few quid by reducing the pay of unfit for duty officers cost them £150,000 commutation, and £19k a year on top. 'Fining' me £3000 a year from my salary for being unfit, and unfit through discharging my duty, has cost the government a small fortune. They're about as clever at saving money as the DWP, and that's their problem, not mine.
3. Both mortgages are paid off, and I get a rental income from my place oop North. It wasn't a deliberate buy to let, as I actually owned and lived in it first, but when I struggled to sell it when moving back down South again that's how it worked out. The rental income is more than Mrs D earns as a teaching assistant, although she also has her police pension.
So the pension is lovely, great, super smashing. But its my savings, lack of mortgage, lack of loans and finance, and rental income that give me what I needed to retire when the feds pushed me out. If I had to rely on that alone I'd still be a wage slave workie. The reality is that I stopped just shy of 48 because I had my own resources in place - that's a pretty good reality check, or cheque when the rent comes in every month.
@dodgy. You're right, starting salary and pension entitlements have been slashed. Now they're wondering why no one wants to join, and why those that do are a waste of oxygen. Going to get worse from next year when you must do a policing degree with no guatntee of a job at the end of it. A lot of twenty year olds realise that stacking shelves at Lidl pays better, has less hours, and you tend not to get regualry assaulted, and you can do exactly what you want in your own time. Police has always been flawed, although its had its highs and lows over time, but the state of it over the next ten years is going to be dreadful with the calibre of people its attracting.
i hope your mate comes through this ok.
