In certain circumstances the SPA may – in its capacity as the pension supervising authority of police pensions in Scotland – decide that the police pension of a police officer (or former police officer) should be forfeited.

This generally happens where a (former) police officer has been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service as a police officer which is certified by the Scottish Ministers as being liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.

The courts have ruled that the police pension of a (former) police officer may be forfeited by no more than 65% - the remaining 35% relates to the individual’s own contributions which are ring-fenced as forfeiture of the individual’s own contributions would infringe their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The SPA works closely with Police Scotland to identify cases in which pension forfeiture might be appropriate.