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Published

4th March 2021

McCloud/Sergeant Judgement - Update – February 2021

McCloud/Sergeant Judgement - Update – February 2021

The UK government has now set out its approach to remedying the age discrimination found in the 2015 pension reforms, in the form of a deferred choice underpin.

The UK government has now set out its approach to remedying the age discrimination found in the 2015 pension reforms, in the form of a deferred choice underpin.

The deferred choice underpin means that members will remain in, or be returned to, their legacy schemes for service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.

Members will be given a choice at the point of retirement (or when benefits become payable) to choose which scheme benefits they wish to receive in respect of service during the remedy period.

Members who have retired since 1 April 2015 will also be presented with a choice.

Not all members will be better off in the legacy schemes, so it is important that individual members can choose which scheme benefits they want to receive.

By deferring this choice until retirement, members will be able to make a more informed choice as to which pension scheme benefits are better for them.

There remain many complex issues to consider and SPPA will be exploring these issues with member and employer representatives on the scheme advisory boards in the coming months.

For now, there is nothing for members to do, as the process of introducing the necessary legislative changes has yet to begin. A number of aspects remain under consideration and more information will be issued as soon as these become clear.