McCloud Judgment

The Government has now confirmed that changes will be made to all main public sector schemes, including the LGPS, to remove unlawful age discrimination following changes to public sector pension schemes in 2014/2015. This ruling is often referred to as the 'McCloud judgment'.

When the LGPS in Scotland changed from a final salary to a career average pension scheme in 2015, protections for older scheme members were introduced. Similar protections were provided in other public sector pension schemes. The Court of Appeal ruled that younger members of the Judges’ and Firefighters’ Pension schemes have been discriminated against because the protections do not apply to them. The Government has confirmed that there will be changes to all main public sector schemes, including the LGPS, to remove this age discrimination. This ruling is often called the ‘McCloud judgment’.

The Government is still considering exactly what changes need to be made to remove the discrimination from the LGPS. This means it has not been possible to reflect the impact of the judgment in your annual benefit statement this year. If you qualify for protection it will apply automatically - you do not need to make a claim. For more information, see the frequently asked questions on the national LGPS website.