The Head of Pensions Administration introduced a report that set out the proposed McCloud judgement remedy. On 16 July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had released the much-anticipated consultation on the McCloud remedy for the LGPS in England and Wales, a 12-week consultation that covered extensive detail on how the remedy would be applied.

The Fund response to the consultation had been shared with the Chairs of Pension Committee and the Local Pension Board, for comment and approval prior to submission on 8 October 2020 and was attached as an appendix to the report.

The submitted response was attached as an appendix to the report and focussed on the operational aspects and communicative challenges in implementing the proposed remedy.

The report informed that separately, the Government had announced that the Treasury would restart the  ‘Employer Cost Cap’ assessment for all public sector schemes and critically that the McCloud remedy was to be included in the assessment of the impact on member benefits. 

A contribution rate assessment for the McCloud remedy had been calculated at the 2019 valuation for Fund employers and the calculations were generally done in line with the proposed underpin in the consultation.  Some employers made a provision in their contribution rates and this allowance would not expect to be revisit until the next valuation.  For other employers, the Funding Strategy Statement allowed the Fund to revisit this where appropriate once the remedy was finalised.

Members were informed that once the outcome of the consultation was finalised, the implementation of the final remedy would be required under legislation and informed by statutory guidance.

The Chair of the Pensions Committee thanked the Head of Pensions Administration for the presentation and the Independent Chair of the Local Pensions Board, John Raisin, for his contributions to the consultation response.

Moved by the Chair and formally seconded by Councillor Cherry Povall, it was: 

Resolved – That the Pension Committee instruct officers to develop a project plan and any associated workstreams to comply with the scale of retrospective benefit calculations in compliance with The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2020.