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For members of the Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland

Am I affected?

Am I affected?
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Use the tool below to find out whether you are protected by the remedy. The rules for protection can be complicated. This tool does not cover every circumstance. Decisions you make about membership of a different pension scheme can change your protection in the LGPS. If you were a member of a different public service pension scheme and you transfer those benefits out of the public service pensions sector, or you have a right to take a refund of contributions, this may affect your protection in the LGPS. Find out more on the What happens if…? page.

You can also read examples of how different members are affected.

Questions

Were you paying into the LGPS before 1 April 2012?

Were you paying into another
public service pension scheme
Schemes for civil servants, armed forces, health service workers, teachers, judiciary, police, firefighters and local government workers.
before 1 April 2012?

Were you paying into the LGPS in the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022)?

Did you pay into another
public service pension scheme
Schemes for civil servants, armed forces, health service workers, teachers, judiciary, police, firefighters and local government workers.
in the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022) OR 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2022 if you were a member of the LGPS in England or Wales)?

Were you under 65 during some or all of the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022)?

Have you had a
disqualifying gap?
A disqualifying gap is a period of more than five years when you were not a member of a public service pension scheme.

Did you retire before 1 October 2023?

Result

You may be protected in the other public service pension scheme that you were a member of. The administrators of that scheme can tell you how your pension is affected. If you transfer that pension to the LGPS, your protection may also transfer. If you transferred before 1 October 2023, it will take some time for your LGPS pension fund to get the information it needs to work out how you are affected. If you transferred after 1 October 2023, you should have been told how the transfer would affect your protection before you made your decision to transfer.

The benefits you build up after the gap won't be protected. However, If you built up separate benefits before the gap (between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022), they will be protected if they are kept separate from the benefits you build up after the gap.

You are protected. Your pension fund will work out whether the pension you built up in the remedy period would have been higher in the final salary scheme. If it would have been, your existing pension will increase. Your pension fund should finish reviewing pensions by 31 August 2025, but some complicated cases may take longer.

You are protected. When you take your pension after 1 October 2023, your pension fund checks whether the pension you built up in the remedy period would have been higher in the final salary scheme. If it would have been, your pension increases. Many members won't see an increase because the pension they built up in the career average scheme is higher than what they would have built up in the final salary scheme.

YOU ARE NOT AFFECTED

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Disclaimer - This tool is not intended to cover every personal circumstance, nor does it confer any contractual or statuatory rights and is provided for information purposes only. In the event of any dispute over your pension benefits the appropriate legislation will prevail.

How different members are affected 

Members protected by the McCloud remedy will be affected in different ways. The examples below give an idea of how you might be affected if you are an active, deferred or pensioner member.

You can find out more about how the McCloud remedy might affect you on the What happens if? page.

Active members

•  Mo is an active member 
•  Employed in the library service since 2006
•  Protected by the McCloud remedy

Outcome
•  Mo receives his annual benefit statement in August 2025
•  It includes estimated underpin figures showing how his pension may be affected
•  Mo does not have to do anything to get the protection.

• Claire joined the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme in 1995
• took her firefighters’ pension in 2015
• started a police civilian role in 2016 and joined the LGPS
• did not transfer her firefighters’ pension because it was already being paid

Outcome
•  Her pension fund contacts Claire in 2024 asking her about any other public service pension scheme membership
•  Claire tells them about her firefighters’ pension so her pension fund knows that she is protected by the McCloud remedy.

• Iain was a member of the civil service pension scheme from 1997 to 2022
• Up to 2015 he built up final salary benefits, and from 2015 he built up career average benefits
• joined the LGPS when he started a new job with his local council in 2022
• transferred his civil service pension to the LGPS.


Outcome
•  Iain’s LGPS pension fund contacts him in 2025
•  They explain that the civil service transfer is now protected by the underpin
•  Iain receives his annual benefit statement in August 2025
•  It includes estimated underpin figures showing how his pension may be affected.

Deferred member

• Asha joined the LGPS in 2011 and left in 2019
• she has deferred benefits
• each year her pension fund sends her a statement showing her deferred benefits with cost of living increases


Outcome
•  The statement she gets in 2025 is different
•  It confirms that she is protected by the McCloud remedy and includes provisional figures showing how her pension may be affected by the underpin.

• Owen joined the LGPS in 2010 when he started non-teaching job in a school
• He is protected by the underpin
• He left his job in 2024
• His LGPS pension fund sends him details of his deferred benefits
• The statement includes provisional figures showing how his pension may be affected by the underpin
• Owen re-joins the LGPS when he starts a non-teaching job in an academy

Outcome
•  His pension fund writes to him about joining his two periods of LGPS membership
•  The letter explains how his decision may affect his pension and underpin protection.

• LGPS member 2009 – 2017
• Transferred LGPS pension to private sector pension in 2018


Outcome
•  Naomi’s LGPS pension fund contacts her in 2024
•  They let her know that she is protected by the McCloud remedy
• They have checked the transfer value they paid to her new employer’s scheme
•  The career average transfer value is higher than the final salary transfer value would have been
•  The LGPS pension fund confirms that no extra transfer payment is due.

Pensioner member

In these examples we only show the pension built up in the remedy period April 2015 to March 2022. The total LGPS pension for these members would be higher.

Portrait of senior businessman standing at office.

• Martin joined the LGPS in 1987 when he started work in adult social care
• He was made redundant in 2017
• His pension was paid straight away because he was over age 55
• His pension was not reduced for early payment.

Martin is protected by the underpin. In 2024, his pension fund reviews the pension he built up in the remedy period:

• career average pension £1,400 a year
• final salary pension £1,200 a year


Outcome
• The pension being paid to Martin is better than the pension he would have got if the final salary scheme had continued until 2017.
• Martin’s pension does not change.

• Amara joined the LGPS as an IT assistant in 2007
• promoted to a management job in 2021
• leaves at age 55 in 2024

Amara’s pension fund checks the pension she built up in the underpin period when she leaves:

• career average pension £5,700 a year
• final salary pension £5,300 a year

The career average pension is higher. Amara takes her pension straight away – reduced because it’s paid early:

• reduced career average pension £3,300 a year
• reduced final salary pension £3,400 a year

Outcome
After the reductions, the final salary pension is higher. The difference of £100 a year is added to Amara’s pension.

• Rafiq joined the LGPS as a finance manager in 2003
• his pay reduced when he chose to take a lower graded post in 2015
• retires in 2024 at age 65
• his higher pay before he changed jobs is used to work out his final salary benefits.

Rafiq’s pension fund checks the pension he built up in the underpin period:

• reduced career average pension £6,300 a year
• final salary pension £6,500 a year


Outcome
The final salary pension is higher. The difference of £200 a year is added to Rafiq’s pension.

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