What is the age discrimination remedy (McCloud)?
When the government reformed public sector pension schemes in 2014-15, the regulations included protections for some members who were within 10 years of retirement.
In 2018, at the Court of Appeal, these protections were found to be age discriminatory. Following the cases of McCloud and Sargeant (from the Judges and Firefighters’ schemes), the Government is putting a remedy in place for this age discrimination. This will make sure that pension scheme members receive the best possible benefits from what they have accrued.
The statutory deadline for producing Remediable Service Statements (RSS) for Police and Firefighter pension scheme members impacted by the McCloud remedy was the 31 March 2025, and LPPA has produced 80% of RSS for all eligible members. In real terms, this is equivalent to the production of 5,327 RSS for Active members and 1,138 RSS for Deferred members (for both member groups, the majority were issued with RSS prior to the 31 August 2024), as well as 2,858 Immediate Choice RSS for Retired members.
All RSS were produced and have been made available for members to access in their secure online account (PensionPoint). Printed copies were posted prior to the 31 March 2025 and email notifications were sent to those members for whom we held email addresses.
These numbers are the result of a huge effort from all those involved – including LPPA, the employers we provide pension administration services for, and our systems partner – and positions LPPA in a favourable position, whilst acknowledging that some other administrators across the sector continue to face challenges in producing RSS for their members. There is still work to do, and our immediate priority is to complete production for any members who are not yet in receipt of their RSS.
Communications have been issued to those members who haven’t yet received their RSS to help them understand the reasons for the delay, and work continues at pace in collaborating with employers to obtain the data required to complete pension calculations. We are also working hard to complete cases for Fire members that are subject to the Matthews remedy, and we are waiting for outstanding national guidance required to complete cases for members with a pension sharing order or a previous pension transfer.
LPPA is committed to meeting the 31 August 2025 deadline for completing RSS production for Local Government Pension Scheme members who are eligible for the age discrimination remedy.
Following the high volume of communications which LPPA has issued over recent weeks, we are experiencing an increase in the number of calls into our Contact Centre, which means members may have to wait slightly longer than usual to speak with an adviser. It is also important to note that LPPA is unable to provide members with advice on which option to choose regarding their pension benefits. However, there is a range of online support information available, including Frequently Asked Questions, videos and links to the national Firefighter and Police pension websites on the Firefighter page and Police page of the LPPA website..
For details on how to register for PensionPoint, our secure online account for members, please click here. PensionPoint can be used by members to access important documents and ensure that their contact details are up to date.
Remedy update: Police and Firefighter scheme members (17 April 2025)
Ahead of the statutory 31 March 2025 deadline, where it was in our control to do so, LPPA produced a large number of Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) for active, deferred and retired members impacted by the age discrimination remedy (McCloud) ruling. These documents were uploaded to the members’ secure, online PensionPoint accounts, and copies were also issued in the post. More detail on the numbers and percentage of completed cases are provided in our earlier update on this page.
Any members who were not in receipt of their RSS by the 31 March 2025 deadline, received a letter to acknowledge the delay, which also highlighted the high priority that LPPA is placing on delivering their RSS as soon as possible.
Information to support members impacted by the age discrimination remedy (McCloud) ruling has been included on the LPPA website, including useful links and videos.
Once members have received their RSS, they have 12 months to decide on their benefits option. It is important to note that not all members will be due an uplift in their benefits as a result of remedy, as many will already be in receipt of the most beneficial option available to them.
When a member’s RSS option form has been submitted, LPPA will process their request. Although, it is important to highlight that some members may be required to undertake a medical reassessment (for example, if they retired due to ill health) before LPPA can complete their options request.
For members who elect for a change in benefits, LPPA will confirm when the changes have been implemented and the date of payment.
The production and communication of IC-RSSs will continue for those members who did not receive their options by the 31 March 2025 – such as members who are impacted by outstanding or late national guidance (including those with pension sharing orders, scheme pays cases, and cases where additional data checks are required). For retired firefighters impacted by the Matthews remedy, this must be completed in advance of McCloud remedy.
