Don't panic too much, whatever job you take on leaving the services is GENERALLY going to mean a pay cut. As a police/AA onshore captain, you are looking around the 45-50k (ish) figure all in, no flying pay. One of these so called offshore low-paid co-pilots will not be too far from that figure as a starting salary. A pension certainly offsets that difference as well.
Unless you have a mansion to pay for, this is not a bad old wage in civvie street, you just get used to the higher military money and think you actually deserve it. Once you make offshore captain, you can resume bathing in ass's milk.
