If you have any queries, please forward them to nitps.mccloud@education-ni.gov.uk
The information below is a short breakdown of each exercise (further, more in depth detail can be found on the links below).
McCloud Remedy
In June 2019, the Supreme Court refused the Government permission to reverse the Court of Appeal’s December 2018 judgment in the McCloud and Sargeant cases. The judgement found that both the judges’ and firefighters’ pension schemes became unfavourable to some of their members when the career average arrangement was introduced in 2015. The courts deemed that the transitional protections offered to some members of the judicial and firefighters’ pension schemes, who were closer to retirement age, had discriminated against younger members who were not eligible for protection.
These regulation changes now need to be rectified on the grounds of age discrimination and apply to the main public service pension schemes, including the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
To find out more about how you may be affected by the McCloud Remedy, please click on the link below
Northern Ireland Teachers Pensions Scheme – Transition Protection Update
On 1 October 2023, all pensionable service accrued by affected members during the Remedy Period (01 April 2015 until 31 March 2022) were rolled back to the legacy final salary scheme.
NITPS are currently in the process of contacting eligible members with a view to issuing remedial service statements displaying the options available under the Remedy. Currently no changes are made to any benefits.
There is nothing for you to do unless you purchased any of the CARE scheme flexibilities during the Remedy Period. These cannot be rolled back therefore NITPS will contact you in due course with your options regarding these flexibilities**.
The Transition Remedy is designed as a no-detriment instrument which will allow you a free choice upon retirement. All your legacy accruals are fully protected, index-linked, and moreover, linked to real final salary.
However, the remedy will reopen a couple of important, time-limited opportunities:
- Affected members now a have another opportunity to buy-out any actuarial reduction (normally ~3%pa) between 65 and the Normal Pension Age (NPA) in the reformed CARE scheme. In other words, you can effectively reduce your NPA in the reformed scheme from the state pension age, down to your 65th birthday, at which point you take those benefits in full. This is only available for six months subsequent to rollback, so must be actioned by 31 March 2024.
- There is also a renewed opportunity to transfer-in any service from another public sector pension scheme, available until 30 September 2024. – This only applicable to McCloud eligible members who were non protected or had tapered protection and joined CARE from 01/04/2022 as a result of the rollback.
For more information see the factsheet below:
Goodwin Judgement
Following the Walker v Innospec Supreme Court ruling, the UK government decided that in public service pension schemes, surviving male same-sex and female same-sex spouses and civil partners of public service pension scheme members will, in certain cases, receive benefits equivalent to those received by widows of opposite sex marriage. An Employment Tribunal case for Goodwin identified that male survivors of opposite-sex marriages and civil partnerships are treated less favourably than survivors in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. As a consequence, changes are required to public service pension schemes, including the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Pension Scheme, to ensure an opposite sex spouse or civil partner of an eligible female scheme member will now receive the same survivor entitlements in the scheme as a same sex spouse or civil partner.
Accordingly, the Department will, in due course, launch a consultation regarding changes to the scheme regulations in order to implement the equalisation of benefits for eligible male survivors of female scheme members.