The civil service pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose legacy or alpha benefits for service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.

It covers only those seven years, and most members need do nothing until the scheme writes to them. Which option comes out ahead turns on your pay, service and plans, the sort of detail an FCA-authorised adviser goes through when ringing you back; the quick form on this page gets that started.

Is my civil service pension affected by the McCloud remedy?

The scheme says you may be affected if, on or before 31 March 2012, you belonged to any public service pension, and you were in pensionable service on or after 1 April 2015. If you are, it "will contact you directly when we need to", and in most cases you need take no action right now.

The test covers public service as a whole. Someone who joined the civil service after 31 March 2012 can still be covered if they were already in another main scheme by then: judiciary, local government, teaching, health service, fire and rescue, police or armed forces. They must give the scheme some information on its form. Those who joined on or before 31 March 2012 have already been assessed.

The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 adds a gaps rule. A break disqualifies you only if it is "longer than 5 years" with no service in a qualifying scheme between your last qualifying day and the service in question. If you also built up another pension, see the pages on the NHS, Teachers' Pension and police remedies.

What was the McCloud ruling, and what is rollback?

In 2015 most civil servants moved into alpha, a career average scheme. Members closest to retirement stayed in the older Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which covers classic, classic plus, premium and nuvos. In 2018 the Court of Appeal found the rules that protected older workers in this way were discriminatory on grounds of age.

The fix came in two parts. The first took effect on 1 April 2022, when all active members became members of alpha. The second, put in place by the 2022 Act, came into force on 1 October 2023. Called rollback, it treats service you had in alpha during the remedy period as having always been pensionable service in the legacy scheme you were most recently in. Your pension before 1 April 2015 and after 31 March 2022 is untouched, and for anyone already drawing a pension, the Cabinet Office says "Rollback does not alter benefits in payment."

You then choose which version of those seven years to be paid on. For how each section builds a pension, see how classic, premium, nuvos and alpha differ and how much civil service pension you get.

Legacy or alpha: when do I have to choose?

The choice is between PCSPS and alpha benefits for the remedy period. When you make it depends on where you are.

  • Not yet retired, or deferred. This is the Deferred Choice Underpin. You choose "shortly before you retire", when your pay, service and circumstances are clearer. The window opens when the statement sent with your retirement quote is issued. Under the scheme's 2023 regulations it closes three months before your pension is expected to start, or on another date the scheme thinks reasonable, never more than a year before; your statement gives the date. A deferred member is told "You'll make your choice when you claim your pension benefits".
  • Already drawing a pension before 1 October 2023. This is the immediate choice. You keep being paid as before until you decide. The Act gives you a year from the day the statement is first provided, or longer if the scheme manager considers that reasonable. A choice for the alternative scheme is treated as taking effect from when your benefits began, so arrears or overpayments are sorted out afterwards.

The scheme warns that "Once you make your choice, it cannot be changed." If you are offered both a PCSPS and an alpha pension and claim only the PCSPS one, you can defer the alpha part by telling the scheme in writing. Those who left before 1 April 2022 have no alpha benefits under the legacy option. The annual pension is, in the scheme's words, only one part of the decision, so weigh lump sum options, death benefits and how benefits rise too.

What is a Remediable Service Statement, and what deadline applies?

A Remediable Service Statement (RSS) sets out your pension for the remedy period under each option. A deferred member's statement is for information only, and the scheme asks just that you keep your address and marital status up to date. Statements are issued in phases, so you need not ask for yours or hold back retirement plans while waiting.

If you are about to retire, the retirement quote comes with the choice, normally with an options form and personal details form around two months before your planned date. Returning the forms at least a month before that date helps your lump sum arrive soon after retirement. Each statement carries its own deadline and says what happens if you do not reply.

Some cases take longer, including those with a transfer, a pension sharing order after divorce, a Scheme Pays debit, partial retirement, or Effective Pension Age (EPA) or Enhanced Effective Pension Age (EEPA) bought during the remedy period.

When the statement arrives with its two sets of figures, you may want a second pair of eyes. An FCA-authorised adviser can hold the pair side by side for nothing if you enquire using the form on this page.

Do contributions, interest and tax change?

For most people, the contribution rate does not change. The Cabinet Office says there is "no difference in the rate of member pension scheme contributions" between alpha and the PCSPS sections, because the same salary bands applied to all from 1 April 2015. A limited number of cases differ, for example where an allowance is pensionable in one scheme but not the other, or where a member hit a service or salary cap in the PCSPS. Any adjustment applies only to the seven remedy years, and your statement shows what is owed either way.

Where money moves, interest can follow. Different interest rates apply to money you owe the scheme and money it owes you, and the statement gives the details. On tax, the scheme says Pension Input Amounts are being recalculated for members affected by rollback, and Remedy Pension Savings Statements may replace earlier ones where relevant. Not everyone is touched. If you are unsure, the annual allowance explains the underlying test.

Added pension, transfers and opted-out years

Added pension bought in alpha during the remedy period can be converted into PCSPS added pension or refunded as a compensation payment. EPA and EEPA, which exist only in alpha, can be converted, refunded or deferred. The Cabinet Office notes the same money typically buys less added pension in the PCSPS, but the overall value is the same, and compensation is available for annual allowance charges overpaid as a result. Anyone who bought extra pension should also read topping up a civil service pension.

Transfers made in the remedy period are being reviewed. Members who opted out for reasons connected with the introduction of alpha can apply to have those years reinstated, though contributions owed carry interest. Ill-health cases from the remedy period are reviewed too. Your own transfer, added pension or opt-out history may alter the remedy position, and an adviser can explain how, free, on the call-back.

Civil service pension McCloud questions

Is the "2015 Remedy" the same as McCloud?

Yes. The scheme uses "2015 Remedy (McCloud)" for the correction of the 2015 reforms. People also search for the civil service pension judgement or judicial review, but the ruling behind it is the McCloud decision by the Court of Appeal.

What if I was already retired and miss the one-year deadline?

The scheme's 2023 regulations then decide. PCSPS benefits carry on, unless all your remedy-period service was in alpha, when alpha is treated as chosen, or it was mixed service and the scheme, after consulting its actuary, finds alpha worth more. Anyone yet to retire should follow what the statement says happens without a reply.

When will the remedy be paid?

If you chose after retiring, the scheme says the change is retrospective and "backdated to the point that the payment of your pension benefits began", with interest on arrears until it is implemented. If you have not yet retired, the effect arrives with your pension.

Can I swap options once I have chosen?

The scheme says a choice cannot be changed once made, so take time over the statement before returning it.

Can I get advice on the choice?

Civil Service Pensions "cannot provide financial advice" and cannot say which option suits you. Prefer a spoken explanation? Your name, number and postcode go in this page's form; an adviser then phones you, and the call is free.