Retire and Rejoin Policy
1. Statement of Policy
This policy and the associated procedure document is intended to assist Dyfed-Powys Police to retain experienced and skilled officers, who are able to retire but wish to continue working. The policy is intended to assist officers who are eligible to retire by providing them with the option of retiring, receiving their pension lump sum (commutation) and returning to the Force.
This policy will assist the organisation to ensure it has the experienced and skilled officers need to provide the best possible service to the communities of Dyfed and Powys.
This policy is not intended to replace effective succession planning and is not intended to be used for retiring officers in roles that can be easily filled.
Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police officers whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary.
2. Policy Scope
This policy applies to serving police officers up to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable who are able to retire and who can access their pension benefits.
Chief Officers also retain the right to use discretion to consider officers who have retired already, should a key business need arise.
Each case will be considered on its individual circumstances and merits. The general presumption is towards approval to retain skills, knowledge and experience.
The eligibility criteria for applicants for retirement and re-engagement must be:
- Police Officers who are former members of the 1987 scheme who have either attained 30 years pensionable service or have attained 25 years pensionable service and are aged at least 50.
- Ranks of Constable or Sergeant who have attained the age of 55.
- Ranks of Inspector and above who have attained the age of 60 or
- Police Officers with membership of the Police Pension Scheme 2006 who have attained the age of 55.
Former officers who wish to re‑join but retired over 12 months ago will not be covered by this policy. Instead, they will fall under the Recruitment and Selection Policy.
3. Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements
The introduction of this policy follows the issue of the NPCC National Reward Team Guidance Note 8 (Retirement and Rejoiner Guidance) which was released to support forces with formulating local policies following a number of developments including:
- The need to retain experienced officers in a wide range of roles to support Programme Uplift, to provide resilience, mentoring and coaching at a time where there are high numbers of officers with limited operational policing experience.
- The changes to the Compulsory Retirement Age (CRA) for police officers from 1st April 2022 and supporting the government’s objectives of achieving longer working lives, whilst removing the financial disincentive that may encourage officers who would ordinarily wish to continue working in the police to leave the service for reasons associated with pension benefit changes.
This policy document should be read in conjunction with the Retire & Rejoin procedure document and the following:-
- Equality Act 2010
- Working Time Directive 1998
- Data Protection Act 2018
- General Data Protection Regulation 2018
- Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
- The Code of Ethics for Policing
- An Equality Impact Assessment has been completed in respect to this policy
- NPCC Advice Note 8 – Retirement and Re-joiner guidance
4. Options and Contingencies
Principles
To achieve this, Dyfed-Powys Police will
- Provide a framework for retiring officers to be re-appointed.
- Manage officer expectations and be transparent with eligible candidates explaining the scheme is discretionary, based on Force need and eligibility criteria, with no absolute right for an officer to retire and rejoin.
- Through strategic workforce planning monitor and review the scheme to ensure optimal benefit in meeting workforce/capability challenges.
- Use a shortened and simplified recruitment procedure for eligible officers, wishing to re-join in line with Force needs.
- Fully abate pensions for retired officers who re-join. Officers re-appointed under this policy will have their monthly pension benefits abated i.e. not paid, once re-appointed to the Force.
- Expect officers returning under the Scheme to provide a minimum of three months’ notice starting their intentions prior to retirement
The following Code of Ethic principles are relevant to this policy and procedure.
- Courage
- Respect and Empathy
- Public Service
This Policy aims to support the delivery of Our Plan and Our Culture Pledge.
5. Take action and review
This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure its effectiveness, and feedback will be sought from key stakeholders and the wider police force.
Any feedback or dissatisfaction with the policy will be recorded and discussed with the policy owner and appropriate action taken.
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.
The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
- advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
- foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.
Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: March 2026