NHS Pension & Retirement

The McCloud judgment, explained.

Why your pension record was recalculated, what the "remedy period" means, and what — if anything — you need to do about it.

2015–22
Remedy period
2
Schemes affected (1995/2008 & 2015)
2
Choices at retirement

What actually happened

When the 2015 CARE pension scheme was introduced, older members were given "transitional protection" that let them stay in their legacy 1995/2008 scheme, while younger members were moved into the 2015 scheme. Courts found this age-based approach was unlawfully discriminatory — this is the McCloud judgment. The remedy: eligible members' service during the affected period is treated as being in whichever scheme (legacy or 2015) turns out to be better for them.

The timeline

2015
Career Average (2015) scheme introduced; transitional protection given to older members.
2018–2020
Employment tribunal and Court of Appeal find the transitional arrangements unlawful (the McCloud/Sargeant cases).
2022
Remedy period defined as 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 for most schemes.
Ongoing
NHS Pensions/NHSBSA recalculating affected members' records and issuing "deferred choice" options at the point of retirement or when benefits are put into payment.

What this means for you practically

The "deferred choice underpin"

For most members, the choice between legacy and 2015 scheme accrual for the remedy period is deferred until you retire (or otherwise access your benefits). At that point, NHS Pensions calculates both outcomes and you (or they, automatically) choose whichever gives the higher benefit.

What to actually do now

Check your Annual Benefit Statement or Total Reward Statement to confirm your remedy-period service is showing correctly. If you're close to retirement, ask NHS Pensions directly about your remedy statement and the choice process, since timelines for issuing these have varied by cohort.

FAQ

No — the remedy is applied automatically to your record by NHS Pensions/NHSBSA. Your job is mainly to check the statements when they arrive and query anything that looks wrong.

Yes, potentially — because your pension growth in affected years may be recalculated. NHS Pensions has processes for members who need to revisit annual allowance charges for tax years affected by the remedy. If you think this applies to you, this is worth raising with an accountant or the NHS Pensions annual allowance team directly.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) website has a dedicated McCloud remedy section with the current timeline and guidance for members — worth checking directly, since implementation details have been updated as the programme has progressed.