Police Officer Salary and Benefits

Salary

The current annual pay for a police officer is $61,347. There are scheduled increases in pay over the next 3 years to the present maximum of $93,202 a year. Overtime is paid at the rate of time and a half. There are excellent opportunities for promotion, with corresponding salary raises. Police officers are paid biweekly. Salary does not include an annual uniform allowance, sick time bonus, or college credit pay. Health Care Members of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police are covered under Capital Blue Cross. Davis Vision covers vision and Delta Dental covers dental coverage. Health benefits start immediately on your date of hire.

Retirement

Every active police officer shall pay into the pension fund each month an amount of money equal to 5% of his/her base rate compensation. From each biweekly paycheck, there will be a pension payroll deduction. Retirees receive 50% of their actual salary, plus longevity, vested after twenty years of service. The collection begins after twenty-five years from the original date of hire with no minimum age requirement necessary to retire. Retirees receive 50% of the cost of the elected medical insurance covered by the City.

View the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (contact) →

Deferred Compensation (457b Plan)

Deferred compensation is a voluntary retirement plan that offers up to a maximum of a $20,500 annual payroll deduction. The money is tax-deferred until retirement or when the money is taken out of the account. The money may be placed in various interest-sensitive investment options such as mutual funds and money market funds. The plan is offered through Nationwide Retirement Solutions.

Supplemental Pension (401a Plan)

We offer a supplemental pension plan that allows officers to contribute up to 10% of their annual base salary. For officers hired after 2011, the City of Lancaster will match your contributions up to 5%. The City will match 25% of each officer’s contribution, with the City’s contribution capped at 1.25% of the officer’s annual base wage. The money is placed in various interest-sensitive investment options. The plan is managed by Conrad Siegel, an employee benefit and investment advisory firm.

Vacation and Holiday Leave

Police officers of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police will accumulate a certain number of hours of vacation up to two weeks a year for the first five years of employment and increase afterward. Officers also earn 136 hours of holiday annually, prorated the first year of service.

Sick Leave

Police officers begin with twenty-one days of leave per year and accrue up to two hundred and ninety-seven sick days. A sick time bonus is paid for Officers who do not use sick time.