The Government has now published its response to the pensions consultation exercise relating to the remedy to rectify the discrimination caused by the 2015 pensions reforms. The consultation response covers all public sector schemes, not just fire service schemes. 

FRSA Pensions Lead, Phil Hayes, commented:

“Having just received the 72-page document we will need time to digest the contents of the response and liaise with our legal advisers before taking a view on the government’s proposal and making further public comment. The document is likely to have an impact on all of our members and our response will take this into consideration.

The document will no-doubt raise additional questions for our members, and we will provide a set of FAQs in good time, however it is clear is that this remedy will be applied to all those affected irrespective of whether they have launched a claim or not, this is an important point we argued at the outset of this consultation process.

As a member of the Scheme Advisory Board (Fire), we will also make our contribution to this group which will provide its own response separate to the FRSA. However, we very much hope that these responses will be aligned.

Whilst stakeholders work their way through the contents of the remedy and what it means to them and who they represent, there is a significant period of time between now and when the remedy is due to come into being. During this period, it is imperative that the Government provides Fire Authorities with clear guidance to ensure that those approaching retirement are able to elect whether to have the remedy period counted as time in the legacy scheme immediately rather than potentially having to wait until October 2023.”

The Government’s full response is available to read online here.

An update regarding our full response to this document will be shared in the coming weeks.