'By the time my pension's sorted, will I be here?'

A former police officer who retired early because of breast cancer and is owed extra pension, says she fears she may not live to see the money paid out.

Sam Hodkinson is one of tens of thousands of public sector workers waiting for pension payments.

They were found to be victims of age discrimination after changes to their public sector pensions in 2014, from which older colleagues were protected.

Pension administrators regret the delays but insist they will meet a legal deadline to issue financial advice on the payments.

Mrs Hodkinson was a Nightingale police officer, a front-line responder helping victims of sexual assault, with Greater Manchester Police, when breast cancer forced her to take retirement early in 2018, aged 48.

She discovered she was owed potentially thousands of pounds in extra pension, after courts ruled protections from change for older workers, but not for younger workers like herself, were discriminatory.

“It makes me feel angry really,” she says. “Being a police officer is a very difficult job. The pension is the thing that keeps many officers working.”

In response, the pension administrators tasked with making the complicated calculations say they are sympathetic and will speed up the process now they have received government advice on tax and interest.

Changes to the value of public sector pensions were made by the government in 2014.

Workers within 10 years of retirement were offered more favourable terms than younger workers. The government is committed to rectifying this and some police officers will benefit.

Figures vary, but more than 32,000 police officers are due to receive statements by March 2025 to help them choose whether to stay in the current scheme or revert to the old one.

The missing pension payments dating between 2015 and 2022 could be worth up to £45,000, or about £600 a month. Firefighters, judges and NHS workers are also included.

However, many police officers did not realise that there would be a delay in getting the boosted pension and have had to take second jobs or have fallen into debt.

Because of her ill health, Mrs Hodkinson is unable to take on another job and worries her cancer may return.

“My fear is that heaven forbid the cancer comes back and that I don’t live to see the benefit of the extra money from the police pension,” she says.

Last week, the Home Affairs Select Committee heard evidence about the delays.

The police co-ordinator for this issue – the National Police Chiefs’ Council – and the pension administrator XPS, reassured MPs and campaigners that they will keep to the 31 March 2025 deadline.

XPS, has so far issued just 252 of more than 32,000 pension statements, but says it can now employ technology to speed up the process.

“All police officers deserve the dignity of a secure retirement, and we understand the frustration and concern these delays have caused,” XPS told BBC News.

Michelle Mooney, a former officer with Police Scotland, retired after 25 years on the front line, facing down violent attackers and helping people injured in car accidents.

She says the scale of the task facing administrators will require “Herculean effort”, and is concerned those affected may not ever receive what they are due.

“There’s no proper information coming out and I fear we might never get this money,” Ms Mooney says.

“Under certain circumstances the deadline can simply be extended.”

SPPA, which runs Michelle Mooney’s pension scheme, told the BBC it expects to meet the March 2025 deadline too.

Antony Hope, who runs a social media group offering solidarity and sharing information with affected former officers like Samantha and Michelle, says the delay is causing a wider problem.

“This money is accruing as a debt and it affects the public purse, which for us as former public sector workers is particularly upsetting.”

The delays have tainted how Mrs Hodkinson feels about her time as a police officer.

“I felt valued as a first responder, but to be left in limbo, awaiting the remedial statement makes me feel like I don’t matter,” she says.

“By the time it’s sorted will I still be here?”