McCloud Judgement

No, this isn’t about a schlocky 1970’s US law & order series. The McCloud judgement refers to a legal ruling with significant implications for the pension schemes of UK public sector workers. In 2018, the Court of Appeal found that in some schemes rules implemented in 2015 to protect older workers by allowing them to remain in their original pension scheme were discriminatory against younger members.

The judgement stemmed from a case brought by a group of younger firefighters who argued that the transitional protection offered to older members of the pension scheme was unfair and constituted age discrimination. The Court of Appeal agreed stating that the transitional arrangements led to unlawful discrimination.

The result of the McCloud judgement meant that the government was required to take action to rectify the discriminatory effects of the 2015 reforms leading to the implementation of the 2015 Remedy aimed at addressing the issues raised by the judgement.

Under the 2015 Remedy all protected Civil Service Pension Scheme members were transferred to the reformed scheme, Alpha, from 1 April 2022. This was the first stage of the remedy.

Under the next stage the pension scheme must roll back pension accounts to legacy pension benefits for service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 to be calculated under both Alpha and Legacy scheme terms.

From January 2024, retired pension scheme members who are affected by these calculations, around 400,000, will be sent letters from Civil Service Pensions after which scheme members will have one year to consider which option will best suit them. 

So keep one eye on your letterbox. A big decision may lie ahead.