McCloud judgement and remedy: what it means for your NHS pension

The NHS pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose 1995/2008 or 2015 Scheme benefits for their service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.

For most members nothing needs doing today: NHS Pensions writes to you when it is time to choose. This page covers the NHS Pension Scheme in England and Wales, run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). Talking your NHS situation through by phone is what this page's enquiry form is for, and the FCA-authorised adviser's call-back is free.

Do I need to do anything about the NHS pension McCloud remedy?

It depends on where you are in your career. NHSBSA says that if you retired on or after 1 October 2023, "you do not need to do anything until we contact you." If you are still working, it will contact you closer to retirement and ask you to choose then. If you retired before 1 October 2023, NHSBSA is already sending statements in batches, and its latest forecast dates are further down.

In every case the choice comes when your benefits become payable (or if you transfer out), not before.

What was the McCloud judgement and why does it reach the NHS pension?

When the NHS scheme was reformed in 2015, members closest to retirement kept their old scheme. NHSBSA explains that those with full protection did not move at all, those with tapered protection stayed for longer, and "members with no transitional protection had to move to the 2015 Scheme on 1 April 2015". It then adds: "The Court of Appeal later found that this discriminated against younger members."

The government is correcting that in two parts. The first, completed in 2022, put every active member into the 2015 Scheme. The second deals with the years in between and is the part people mean by "the remedy". The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 requires schemes to offer that election in two forms: section 6, headed "Immediate choice to receive new scheme benefits", covers members who were already pensioners, or had died, when rollback took effect, and section 10, "Deferred choice to receive new scheme benefits", covers those who were then active or deferred members. The same rules were written separately for other schemes, so see the Teachers' Pension, police, civil service, LGPS and armed forces pages if you have service in those too.

What is rollback, and which years does the remedy period cover?

The remedy period is 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. Rollback is the first step inside it: NHSBSA says any 2015 Scheme service in that period was returned to the 1995/2008 Scheme on 1 October 2023 for members who had no protection or tapered protection. Your remedy-period membership "will be automatically rolled back into the legacy NHS scheme", and stays there until you choose.

If you are not sure which sections you hold, which NHS pension scheme you are in explains the difference.

Am I affected by the NHS pension McCloud judgement?

NHSBSA's test starts with when you joined: any public service pension scheme, no later than 31 March 2012. Your pensionable service must then have run continuously from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 (or to retirement, if earlier), or you left after 31 March 2012 and came back within five years; it must have been legacy-scheme service, or 2015 Scheme service that otherwise would have been; and you must not have chosen to give up transitional protection to move to the 2015 Scheme. NHSBSA puts the other side plainly: "If you joined a public service pension scheme after the 31 March 2012, you are not affected."

Previous membership of another public service scheme can count, so a nurse who joined the NHS scheme after 31 March 2012 from the civil service or the LGPS may still be in scope; NHSBSA asks for its Remedy PPSM form where that earlier membership fell in the five years before joining. Whether a patchy record puts you inside the test is a question for NHS Pensions, whose knowledge base is the first stop.

Your Remediable Service Statement: comparing the two sets of figures

A Remediable Service Statement (RSS) is the letter that sets your remedy-period benefits side by side: one set under the 1995 or 2008 Scheme, one under the 2015 Scheme. NHSBSA gives you 12 months from the date on it to reply. "If you do not reply, we’ll update your benefits permanently to pay you 1995 or 2008 benefits for the remedy period. This is option A in your RSS." Once your decision form is back, NHSBSA says it updates your pension within 60 days.

Two points deserve a second look. If you took a lump sum when you retired, the figure in the RSS assumes the same decision again. If a different option raises your lump sum and you take the higher amount, NHSBSA says it will "permanently reduce more of your annual pension in exchange"; if you took the maximum and now take less for a higher pension, you may have to repay the overpaid lump sum. Pension now or cash now: the RSS lump sum figures are worth talking through with a regulated adviser, by phone and free, which is what this page's enquiry form sets in motion.

The better option is not always the 1995/2008 one. NHSBSA's own reasoning is that moving everyone back automatically "would leave some worse off because some members may find they’re better off with 2015 Scheme benefits". Before your statement arrives, its Remedy Benefits Illustrator gives an early idea.

When will NHS Pensions send my statement?

NHSBSA publishes forecast dates for retired members. Its first group is retired members currently receiving 2015 Scheme benefits for some or all of the remedy period, and those who built up 2015 Scheme pension in that period and retired before 1 October 2023. For them it says: "We’re currently forecasting that you can expect to receive your RSS by the end of December 2027, subject to key dependencies." For retired members already on 1995/2008 benefits (rolled back on 1 October 2023, or in the old scheme throughout the remedy period) the forecast is the end of June 2030; NHSBSA expects many of them to see little or no change, though individual outcomes will vary.

You can ask to choose sooner in some situations, such as when a retired member has a life expectancy of less than 12 months, and NHSBSA lists the scenarios on its page. These are the latest dates, not promises, so check NHSBSA's page for the current position.

Does the remedy affect my annual allowance and tax?

It can. Because remedy-period service moved between schemes, your pension growth for the tax years 2015/16 to 2021/22 may be restated. NHSBSA says this "could mean they have an annual allowance tax refund to claim, or a small number may have extra tax to pay." If it applies, you get a Remediable Pension Savings Statement (RPSS) and then have three months to use HMRC's online tool. Full detail on how the allowance works is in the NHS annual allowance guide.

What help is there with the decision?

NHSBSA says "We cannot give you financial advice or tell you which option is best for you", and that for most members the RSS should be enough. For the small number of members with more complex circumstances who may need independent advice, the NHS Cost Claim Back Scheme may cover the cost, and NHSBSA's page on it lists what can be claimed. MoneyHelper is another free route, and others are on our NHS pension advice page.

If you cancelled added years or additional pension, or left the scheme, because of the 2015 changes, the remedy also has contingent decisions to look at.

More on the NHS pension McCloud judgement

Does the remedy apply to the NHS pension in Scotland?

Not through NHSBSA. This page is about England and Wales; NHSBSA lists the NHS Pension Scheme in Scotland as a separate public service scheme, and the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) runs its own NHS Remedy Hub for those members, covering the same remedy period. More on the Scottish scheme is on the Scottish NHS pension page.

I opted out because of the 2015 changes. Can I put that right?

NHSBSA says you "can apply to buy back remedy period service if you opted out of the NHS Pension Scheme because of the discrimination identified in the McCloud judgement." It has cost calculators and a quote request, and interest is charged. Opting out in general is covered in how to opt out of the NHS pension.

Is the date I can retire changed by the remedy?

The ages at which each section can be claimed are on NHS pension age; the remedy does not change those ages, but your choice decides whether your remedy-period years are paid as 1995/2008 or 2015 Scheme benefits, and the RSS shows both.

Once the statement lands, you can have the 1995/2008 and 2015 figures compared by an FCA-authorised adviser, after a call-back that costs nothing; the form here sets it up.