Dozens of retired police officers are missing out on pension payments because they were “frozen out” of a deal struck with Government after a long-running dispute.Two of the disgruntled officers spoke out, saying they want to know the terms of the deal made in January 2010, which means an estimated 30 retired officers are losing hundreds of dollars per month.Ian Morrison, 60, and Russell Matthews, 51, have been unable to get answers despite repeated requests for information from the Police Association and Police Commissioner.Mr Matthews, who served Bermuda Police for 24 years until 2008, said: “Officers have basically been frozen out without any regard to their future.”Mr Morrison, who served for 34 years until 2007, said: “I feel very aggrieved over the way this has been handled.”The problem relates to the police “combined allowance”, which had been in dispute between officers and government for decades, and formed part of a contract agreement between them, effective from October 2005.The allowance amounted to just under ten percent of officers’ pay and was worth almost $7,000 per year to a police constable at that time. It was designed to compensate for the unsociable hours officers have to work.The Bermuda Police Association (BPA) and Government got embroiled in a dispute because Government did not want the allowance to be factored in when calculating officers’ pensions. They argued that that would cost millions in extra pension payouts.However, the BPA argued that the combined allowance had always been subject to payroll tax, and as part of officers’ total pay, should be recognised as salary and factored into their pensions.An arbitration award made in June 2008 by the Permanent Police Tribunal said the combined allowance should be scrapped, and the monies paid as salary and made pensionable.Unhappy with the ruling, Government took the matter to court. They won at the Court of Appeal but the BPA won permission to appeal to the Privy Council in London — Bermuda’s highest court of appeal.Just before the case was due to begin in early 2010, Government made what Mr Morrison described as a “take it or leave it offer” to the BPA to get rid of the combined allowance, incorporate it into officers’ salaries, and make pension payments on their total earnings as of January 1 2010. It was accepted by the BPA via an overwhelming vote and the Privy Council case was dropped.Some retired officers — including Mr Morrison — were invited to vote by e-mail. Others, including Mr Matthews, were not.According to Mr Morrison, who moved back to his native UK after retiring from his post as a Detective Constable in the Intelligence Division: “A number of officers who retired between October 2005 and January 2010 have in essence been frozen out from this deal. We don’t have precise figures, but we believe it amounts to somewhere in the region of 30 officers, including a number of Bermudians.”He added: “I feel totally let down by the Government for, in the first instance, not accepting the findings of the arbitration process and I feel let down by the Police Association not making any attempt at any point to represent the needs of the retired officers.”He estimated that for the average retired officer affected, the missed payments amount to around $300 per month or more, depending on their rank and length of service.Mr Morrison said: “It is my belief that each and every other ruling handed down by the arbitrators, was backdated by Government to October 1, 2005, with the exception of the combined allowance.”He added: “While I accept the start date for payments of January 1, 2010, it should have included those officers who retired after October 1, 2005, as that was the starting date of the new contract that had been negotiated. That way we would now be getting the benefit of the extra ten percent on our pension, but without the Government having to make back payments to October 1, 2005.”Mr Morrison and Mr Matthews have been pressing the BPA and Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva for information on the issue without success. They want to know the exact wording of the Government offer accepted by the Association, so they can consider launching a legal challenge.Mr Matthews, who is from the UK but lives in Bermuda, was the Sergeant in charge of Firearms and Public Safety until his retirement.He wrote to Mr DeSilva expressing his concerns over the situation in July last year. In a reply the following month — shared with this newspaper by Mr Matthews — Mr DeSilva said he must take up the issue with the BPA.Mr Morrison approached the BPA for information. However, chairman Kevin Christopher declined to provide him with minutes of the meeting where the vote was taken, and said he does not have the exact wording of the Government offer and has been unable to locate it.Mr Morrison said this puts him and Mr Matthews in a difficult position, since they cannot consider a legal challenge without knowing the exact wording of the agreement.The Royal Gazette invited Mr DeSilva and Det Sgt Christopher to comment.Det Sgt Christopher replied: “The Bermuda Police Association recognise the concerns expressed by ex-police officers Matthews and Morrison. It in my intention to schedule a meeting of the BPA Executive for Thursday, August 16, 2012, where this will be among the issues discussed. It is not prudent to comment further on this subject prior to that meeting.”He added: “The BPA will continue to represent the interests of both present and former officers and we encourage communication between parties as a means of addressing issues of concern.”A spokesman for Mr DeSilva said: “Matters of pay are negotiated between the BPA and the Bermuda Government. Accordingly, the Commissioner does not get involved, and it is not his place to comment.”