The Teachers' Pension McCloud remedy lets eligible members choose legacy or career average benefits for service from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.

The remedy follows a court finding of age discrimination in how the 2015 public service pension reforms treated older and younger members, and it now applies to the Teachers' Pension Scheme in England and Wales. If you were in the scheme by 31 March 2012 and were in pensionable service at some point between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 without a disqualifying break, your pension for those years can be worked out two ways and you pick one. Teachers' Pensions holds your figures and sends your statement. Pay history, age and plans decide which version comes out ahead, so it can help to hear both explained by an FCA-authorised adviser without paying a fee; teachers who complete the form on this page receive that explanation by phone.

What is the Teachers' Pension McCloud remedy?

In December 2018 the Court of Appeal found that "transitional protections unlawfully discriminated against younger members of the judicial and firefighters’ pension schemes". That ruling, known as McCloud/Sargeant, concerned those two schemes, not teachers. In July 2019 the government confirmed that it accepted the judgment had implications for other public service schemes with similar transitional arrangements. The Department for Education (DfE) then wrote the teachers' remedy into the scheme under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022.

The DfE describes the problem in one sentence: "transitional protection arrangements allowed older members to continue accruing pension in the existing legacy (final salary) schemes whilst younger members were moved into reformed (career average) schemes." The remedy has two parts. The first closed the legacy scheme to further building on 31 March 2022, so every active member is now in the career average scheme. The second reaches back over the years in between, and it is the part that gives you a choice.

The legacy scheme has two sections, with normal pension ages of 60 and 65 depending on when you joined. The DfE gives the reformed scheme's normal pension age as State Pension age or 65, whichever is higher. How each scheme builds a pension is set out in how a Teachers' Pension is worked out.

When will my Teachers' Pension remedy be paid?

The Act gave the scheme manager 18 months from 1 October 2023 to issue statements, with a later date allowed where that is reasonable. In a news item last updated on 2 December 2025, Teachers' Pensions said "we’re currently unable to confirm specific completion dates", pointing to technical dependencies, regulatory requirements and coordination with external partners. It also named the complexity of individual histories such as early retirement, breaks in service, overtime and transfers.

For members who were already retired, a new payment follows the choice. Teachers' Pensions says that once the choices form sent with the statement comes back, it must make further calculations, covering under or overpayments, interest and other financial matters, before the new payment is set up. It aims to amend payments within 90 days, though it accepts that this has not been possible for some members. Its advice: "you shouldn’t commit to any new financial agreements until the arrears are paid into your account."

Who gets the choice, and what is the remedy period?

The remedy period runs from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. The DfE says eligible members "were members of the legacy scheme on or before 31 March 2012 (when the reforms were announced) and continued to be in pensionable service at some point during the remedy period without having had a disqualifying break in service." About 590,000 members were involved when the DfE responded to its consultation in July 2023.

The Teachers' Pension Scheme (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/871) came into force on 1 October 2023. They cover active members, deferred members and pensioners, and members who have died through a decision-maker. The regulations extend to England and Wales only, so teachers in Scotland, whose scheme is separate, are not covered by them (see the Scottish question on our transfers page). Other public service schemes have their own remedy rules; the police pension remedy is one. The DfE also notes that excess teacher service, a period pensionable in the reformed section but not the legacy section, may have been pensionable in the Local Government Pension Scheme, if the employer was an eligible employer in both. Whether a gap in your own career counts as a disqualifying break is for your statement to show.

Transitional protection explained: protected, tapered and unprotected members

Teachers' Pensions sorts affected members into protected, unprotected and tapered groups. The DfE's own wording is that members who had full, partial or no protection when the reformed scheme began must all be treated in the same way: reformed service in the remedy period is rolled back to the legacy scheme, and you are offered a choice.

The choice is all or nothing. The DfE says that letting tapered protection members keep a mix of legacy and reformed benefits for the remedy period "would continue the identified discrimination as this would result in some members retaining transitional protection on the basis of their age." Teachers' Pensions adds that "Tapered members in particular need benefit comparisons under both schemes, which adds significant complexity."

In a news item last updated on 3 December 2025, about payments after the choices form is returned, Teachers' Pensions said "94% of fully protected members have opted to remain in their current arrangement, while 6% have chosen to transition to the career average scheme." That records what those members had chosen by then, not what you should do. Which version suits a tapered member can turn on their own dates.

What is a Remediable Service Statement (rectification statement)?

A Remediable Service Statement, or RSS, sets your two versions side by side. Teachers' Pensions also calls it a rectification statement. The DfE says its calculations are shown in three sections: a pre-2015 legacy calculation; benefits for the remedy period under both legacy and reformed rules; and, where it applies, your reformed scheme service after 31 March 2022.

For retired members, Teachers' Pensions said it would email you when your statement is ready, and that it then sits as a PDF in your My Pension Online messages with instructions for the form. You return the form by post or complete the "Your Retirement Choices" webform, depending on your circumstances. Teachers' Pensions adds: "These forms aren’t available on other parts of our website; you can only access them through the message we send you."

Active members get a statement each year, combined with their annual benefit statement, and deferred members can ask for one once a year. The DfE says you should check the service and salary details it uses and, if they are wrong, ask your employer to update them; a revised statement then follows.

How the choice works if you have not yet retired

If you were working or deferred on 1 October 2023, you are a deferred choice member and decide when you apply for your pension. The DfE explains why: "it is only at this point that members will have all of the necessary information regarding the value of each option."

When you apply you receive a final statement. Under the regulations you normally have 12 months from the day it is issued, or another end date the scheme manager considers reasonable, to decide. You can change your mind until two weeks before your first payment is due, or a later time the scheme manager allows. The choice covers all your remediable service in that employment, so you cannot take legacy benefits for some years and career average for others. The DfE says that if a deferred choice member does not communicate a decision before the end of the election period, no retirement benefits will become payable; under the regulations a new election period can then begin with a fresh statement.

The decision arrives alongside other retirement choices, such as taking the pension early, the lump sum and phased retirement.

If you retired before October 2023: choosing and repaying

If you were drawing your pension before 1 October 2023, or the member had died before that date, the choice is an immediate one. The DfE says you then have 12 months from the statement's issue to confirm it. The regulations are blunt that "An immediate choice decision is irrevocable." If no decision is made in time, the scheme manager may treat reformed scheme benefits as chosen where their monetary value would be higher.

A different choice can change what you were paid. The DfE says: "Should the effect of the member’s choice be an overpayment of benefits (or underpayment of member contributions) the member will be required to repay the outstanding amount to the scheme." It adds that a payment plan will be considered if you cannot repay in one go, and that the statement shows any under or overpayment before you choose.

Tax, the lump sum and other pensions all interact with this choice, so before signing the choices form you might want an FCA-authorised adviser to check how it fits your own position; the short enquiry form here arranges that by phone.

Practical questions about statements and forms

Does HMRC have a part in the remedy?

Yes, on the tax side. HMRC publishes a public service pensions remedy newsletter; its July 2026 edition covers scheme pays elections made through its 'calculate your public service pension adjustment' service, and excess teacher service.

Is the "Your Retirement Choices" form the same as my statement?

No. The statement shows the figures; the form is how you record your choice, and Teachers' Pensions sends it with the statement rather than publishing it on its site.

Can I ask for a statement if I left teaching years ago?

Deferred members can ask in writing, and the scheme manager must provide one within three months of the request. Only one request can be made in any period of 12 months.

What if my statement looks wrong?

The DfE says the calculations rest on the service and salary information the scheme holds, and asks you to contact your employer to correct it. Once it is updated, a new statement becomes available.

Who chooses if the member has died?

The regulations name an eligible decision-maker for each situation, and the statement goes to that person. For a member who had not retired, they normally have 12 months from the date it is issued to decide, unless the scheme manager allows longer.

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