Am I affected?
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.
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: longer-term LGPS member
• 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: new LGPS member
• 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: public sector transfer
• 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: 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: rejoining member
• 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.
Naomi: transferring member
• 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 2014 to March 2022. The total LGPS pension for these members would be higher.
Martin: redundancy pension
• 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: early retirement
• 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: pay reduction
• 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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Key dates
Historic dates and future dates to be aware of.
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What is the McCloud Remedy?
What is the McCloud Remedy