Pensions update from the Police Federation of England and Wales

12 November 2020

*** Sent on behalf of National Secretary Alex Duncan ***

Dear Colleagues,

I am aware that yesterday there was an unhelpful post that appeared regarding the ongoing Police pension challenge. The social media message claimed an Employment Tribunal had awarded a ‘final remedy’ to Leigh Day claimants and reinstated ‘Challengers’ back into their old pension schemes. It also stated our PFEW claim had been refused.

The inference from this post was that those members who suffered discrimination but had not lodged a claim were not going to have the discrimination remedied. That is not the case. The judgment of the Tribunal is limited to the claimants, but those who did not lodge a claim will have the situation rectified - as stated by the Government.

I’d like to take this opportunity to give you an update on our progress. For simplicity, I would summarise the current position as follows:

• Pension ‘Challenger’ claimants will be entitled to remain in their original pension scheme for a ‘remedy’ period
• This remedy period is not indefinite and is scheduled to end on 31st March 2022
• All active members of police pension schemes are currently scheduled to be transitioned into the 2015 CARE scheme from 1 April 2022
• The Employment Tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to extend the remedy to those who were not claimants in the case
• Non-claimants will benefit from the rectification being undertaken by Government. This will provide them with the option to remain in their original pension scheme for the duration of the remedy period
• Both claimants and non-claimants (who were discriminated against) will therefore be entitled to remain in their original pension scheme for the remedy period

The cross public sector consultation on how to approach the implementation of the rectification has now closed, and submissions (including one from PFEW) are currently being considered by the Treasury.

The next stage will involve the publication of the Government’s approach to this rectification, following consideration of the consultation submissions. After this, work will commence by the Scheme Advisory Board to identify the best approach to implement rectification, and this will take into account specific scheme issues.

I want to reassure you PFEW will be fully involved in the consultations and I will continue to update you on future developments.