PSNI pay scales 2026/27

These are the scales from 1 September 2025, after the 4.2% award that reached pay packets in January 2026. They are still the rates in payment: the 2026/27 award for PSNI officers had not been announced by November 2026, while officers in England and Wales have had 3.5% since 1 September 2026. More on that below.

Constable pay scale

Full time, tax code 1257L, PSNI pension at 13.66%, NITA included, no student loan or overtime. Student officers appointed after 1 September 2025 start on point 1 (the Chief Constable can set point 2 instead) and move to point 2 after twelve months. From there it is one point a year to the top, six years in all.

Constables who joined before 1 September 2014 are on an older scale that starts at £32,820 for trainees and reaches the same £50,256 top.

Sergeant to chief superintendent

Take-home includes NITA. Every sergeant starts on point 1 on promotion. Superintendent and chief superintendent scales are from the Police Remuneration Review Body’s 2025 report for Northern Ireland, which the Justice Minister accepted in full.

What NITA is and what it is worth

NITA is a flat £4,283 a year, paid to every officer on top of salary in recognition of the security situation officers serve under. It is taxed like pay but it is not pensionable, so no pension comes off it and it does not count towards your police pension.

For a new constable it adds about £257 a month to take-home: £1,879 without it, £2,136 with it. It has gone up with recent pay awards, so expect it to rise again when the 2026/27 award is agreed.

Your first payslip, line by line

The pension is worked out on salary only and comes off before tax. Tax and National Insurance are charged on salary plus NITA. Northern Ireland uses the same Income Tax bands as England, so the only differences from an English payslip are NITA and the pension rate.

The pension rate is not the same as in England

PSNI officers are in the Police Pension Scheme 2015, but Northern Ireland sets its own contribution rates. From April 2025 to March 2027 there are two: 13.66% on pensionable pay under £60,000 and 14% at £60,000 or more. Every constable and sergeant pays 13.66%; every inspector and chief inspector pays 14% on the whole salary.

In England and Wales the rates since April 2026 are 12.88%, 13.88% and 14.22%. So a new PSNI constable pays a little more of their salary into the pension than one in England, and a constable at the top a little less. These rates were due to run out in March 2027. The Department of Justice has consulted on keeping them in place after that, because new rates from the latest scheme valuation will not be ready in time.

PSNI or a force in England and Wales?

PSNI basic pay is now one award behind England and Wales, but NITA more than makes up the gap. Constable against constable, outside London:

A new PSNI constable takes home £185 a month more than one in England, and the gap is £188 at the top. A top-point sergeant takes home £3,420, against £3,285 in England and Wales, and a new inspector £3,723 against £3,612. Forces around London pay London Weighting or the South East Allowance instead, which changes the comparison there.

When the 2026/27 pay rise comes

PSNI pay is set by the Department of Justice after a recommendation from the Police Remuneration Review Body, which looks at Northern Ireland separately and later than England and Wales. Last year the 4.2% award from 1 September 2025 was confirmed in December and paid in January 2026, with back pay.

The 2025 PSNI scale matched the England and Wales scale point for point. If the 2026/27 award is also 3.5% from 1 September 2026, PSNI constables would move to the England and Wales figures above: £32,255 at point 1 and £52,015 at the top. That is £91 to £147 a month before tax, owed for every month back to September. This is not confirmed; it is what parity would mean.

Other payments

• Competence related threshold payment (CRTP): £1,224 a year for constables, sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors who have spent a year on the top point of their scale. It has been frozen at this rate since 2013 and is being phased out, so check whether you still qualify.
• Dog handlers’ allowance: £2,946 a year from 1 September 2025.
• Overtime: taxed through PAYE on top of salary and NITA, and not pensionable. Our police overtime calculator uses England and Wales scales, but you can put in your own hourly rate.

Before you budget on the new rate

Plan on the September 2025 figures until the Department of Justice confirms the 2026/27 award, and treat any back pay as a one-off: it is taxed in the month it arrives, so a large lump can be taxed at 40% even if your normal pay is not. For Scotland’s scales, see Police Scotland pay scales.