The McCloud judgment was based on a claim that members of public service pension schemes, including the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), were discriminated against when changes to the schemes were introduced from 2014.
Background
When the LGPS changed from a final salary to a career average pension scheme in April 2014, protections for older scheme members were introduced. Other public service pension schemes introduced similar protections from April 2015.
Members of the Judges and Firefighters Pension schemes brought a case to the Court of Appeal. The court ruled in December 2018 that the changes introduced for older members were discriminating against other scheme members on age grounds. This ruling is often called the 'McCloud judgment'.
Changes to the LGPS
Changes have been made to all public service pension schemes, including the LGPS. The reason was to remove age discrimination by introducing the same protection for younger members.
New regulations in force from 1 October 2023 confirmed the changes made to the LGPS.
Qualifying members receive protection which is often called an underpin on their pension built up between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022. Members only benefit if their pension value would be higher for their membership in this period under the former final salary arrangements.
What this might mean for you
The McCloud remedy changes may affect you if you meet all of the following:
- you were paying into the LGPS or another public service pension scheme before 1 April 2012
- you were paying into the LGPS between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022
- you have been a member of a public service pension scheme without a continuous break of more than 5 years
We work out if you are affected based on information we hold about your current and previous public service pension scheme memberships.
If you were previously a member of a public service pension scheme and think that we don’t know about it, you can complete the previous public service history form.
Only a small number of members have benefitted from the McCloud remedy. This is because most receive a better pension from the career average scheme.
Go to the previous public service history form
What we're doing
We are checking the pensions of all affected members, including those who are no longer actively contributing or are already receiving their pension.
What action you need to take
Unless you are completing the previous public service history form, you don't need to do anything. We'll write to you if your pension is going to change.
If you are contacted by a third-party organisation selling a service to help you claim additional pension because of the McCloud judgment, you should not engage with them.
More information
You can find a video and more information about the McCloud remedy on the LGPS member website, including:
- What the McCloud remedy is
- Who is affected
- The key dates
- How your pension may be affected
- McCloud FAQs
Go to the McCloud remedy webpage