Following the recent McCloud Remedy consultation response from the Government this is what we know so far…
- Following an age discrimination ruling made in 2019, many members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) will be affected by the outcome of the so-called McCloud Case.
- If you were serving both on or before 31st March 2012 and on or after 1st April 2015 (including service leavers), the decision on how to remedy the issue could be very relevant to you.
- We (and others) lobbied hard in favour of one of the two remedial options being considered. To its credit, the Government agreed with our recommendation, titled “Defence Choice Underpin”.
- The decision means that toward the end of your career, for the 7 year ‘remedy period’ (1 Apr 15 – 31 Mar 22 or your retirement date if earlier) you will be able to choose between the pension benefits offered by your legacy (AFPS 75 or 05) scheme or the reformed (AFPS 15) scheme.
- At your point of decision, you will have all the information you need about the actual pension benefits you’ve earned. Your personal circumstances will then need to be assessed so you can make an informed decision.
- We will be there to guide our Members through that decision-making process to best meet your, and your family’s needs, but right now there is no action for you to take since it is likely that it will be many months before the necessary legislation is enacted.
- If, by the time the remedy process is in place, you are in Resettlement or have already left the Armed Forces, you will be contacted by MoD and provided with the information you require.
At this point you might well ask…
How long will all this take?
So, we have created, for our Members, a McCloud Remedy Timeline guide which we hope you will find useful, and will for now, answer ‘what next, and when?
