What is it?
The LGPS rules changed from 1 October 2023. When public service pension schemes changed from final salary schemes to career average schemes in 2014 and 2015, older members were protected from the changes.
In 2018, the Courts found that younger members had been discriminated against because the protections did not apply to them.
The 2023 changes are called the McCloud remedy. They remove the age discrimination found in the McCloud court case.
Some LGPS members are protected by the McCloud remedy.
The McCloud Remedy will affect very few members.
The McCloud Remedy will only apply to members who:-
- were a member of the LGPS or another public service pension scheme before 1 April 2012
- were a member of the LGPS in the remedy period between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022
- were under age 65 in the remedy period, and
- have not had a disqualifying gap.
If you fall into the above scope then we will compare what your benefits would have been if you had remained in the existing final salary scheme, compared to the career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme, and the higher of either scheme will be paid at retirement. This is called the underpin.
The McCloud Remedy wont impact many, and we expect only a few members will have an increase to their pension benefits through the underpin due to the high accrual rate of the CARE scheme.
McCloud Remedy Explained
You can find out more about the McCloud remedy on the website for LGPS members: www.lgpsmember.org/mccloud
Declaring Previous Public service pensions
Protection depends on when you were a member of the LGPS and any other public service pension scheme. Complete this electronic form to let the West Midlands Pension Fund know about any other relevant pension scheme membership.
Complete a McCloud – Public Service Pension Rights Declaration Form
Please complete a McCloud - Public Service Pension Rights Declaration Form to declare any previous public service pension rights that could put you in scope of protection for the McCloud remedy. Once we have received this information, we will contact your previous pension provider/s, and this information will be used to apply the protection to your benefits. We will give you an estimate of how the underpin may affect your pension in your 2026 benefit statement.