The McCloud Remedy is the name given to changes made by the Government to public service pension scheme rules to remove the age discrimination found in the McCloud court case.
The McCloud Remedy will affect very few members. We will contact you soon if these changes affect you. You do not need to act or contact us right now.
The Government changed the rules of most public service pension schemes in 2014 and 2015, including those for the LGPS. The rule changes included protection for older members, and in 2018, the Courts found that this protection discriminated against younger members. This ruling is often called the McCloud judgment after a member of the Judges Pension Scheme involved in the case. The Government has been working towards changing pension scheme rules to remove the discrimination from all public sector pension schemes affected since then, and it changed the LGPS rules in October 2023.
The rules and protections introduced for the LGPS were different to those of other public service pension schemes, so if you have a pension in one of those schemes, for example, in the NHS or Teachers Scheme, you should see their website for more details.
In the LGPS, very few members will be affected by the McCloud remedy. When the LGPS changed from a final salary to a career average pension scheme in 2014, those members within ten years of their Normal Pension Age (usually age 65) on 31 March 2012 had a protection called the underpin. When a protected member takes their pension, we compare the benefits payable under the career average and final salary schemes and pay the higher amount. However, for almost all members, the career average scheme gives higher benefits, so no underpin amount is due.
The McCloud Remedy changes introduced in October 2023 provide younger members with protection equal to the underpin protection provided to older members to remove discrimination. We are now beginning work to identify which of our members have this new protection.
You can visit the LGPS website or read the factsheet. 'A summary of what the McCloud Remedy is, whether you will be affected, and key dates' for more information about the McCloud remedy and to watch an informational video.
Reviewed October 2024