McCloud

Following the outcome of the McCloud case, we have a requirement to collect all part time hour and week changes for our LGPS members since the introcution of the CARE scheme from 1 April 2014.

What do our employers need to do

We require all part time hour and week changes for your LGPS members who were in service on 31 March 2012 and also have service after 31 March 2014 (without a break of more than five years).

We require all employers to provide us with the information via completing the Part time hours History April 2014 onwards (Excel doc, 17 KB)(opens new window).

What is the McCloud court case about?

When the Government reformed public service pension schemes in 2014 and 2015 they introduced protections for older members. In December 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that younger members of the Judges' and Firefighters' Pension schemes have been discriminated against because the protections do not apply to them.

The Government has confirmed that there will be changes to all main public sector schemes, including the LGPS, to remove this age discrimination. This ruling is often called the 'McCloud judgment' after a member of the Judges' Pension Scheme involved in the case.

What does it mean for the LGPS?

When the LGPS changed from a final salary to a career average pension scheme in 2014, members who were within 10 years of their Normal Pension Age (usually age 65) on 1 April 2012 were provided with a protection called the 'underpin'. When a protected member takes their pension, the benefits payable under the career average and final salary schemes are compared and the higher amount is paid.

The Government will need to provide younger members with a protection equal to the underpin protection provided to older members in order to remove the discrimination. It recently consulted on the changes that need to be made to do this. The public consultation on the proposed changes closed on 8 October 2020. The Government is currently analysing the responses.

In order to prepare for the changes, we require all part time hour and week changes for LGPS members to enable us to apply the new underpin when it is announced.