This meeting of the Kensington and Chelsea Pension Board was scheduled to include a discussion of the implementation of annual benefit statements, and to consider whether to delay the inclusion of information about the McCloud remedy¹ in the statements issued to members for the 2024/25 scheme year. The meeting was also scheduled to cover any other urgent items raised by Councillor David Lindsay, Chair of the Pension Board.

Implementation of 2025 Annual Benefit Statements

The Pension Board were scheduled to discuss a report by Duncan Derbyshire, Pensions Manager, regarding the implementation of 2025 annual benefit statements (ABS).

The report explained that when the government reformed public service pension schemes in 2014 and 2015, protections were introduced for older members. However, in December 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that younger members of the judges' and firefighters' pension schemes had been discriminated against because the protections did not apply to them.

The report stated that:

This ruling is called the McCloud judgment, after a member of the Judicial Pension Scheme involved in the case. Because of the ruling, all public service pension schemes, including the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), have been changed.

The report noted that changes to the LGPS rules from 1 October 2023 were intended to ensure eligible younger members are protected.

The report stated that by law, LGPS administering authorities need to include remediable service information in the ABS issued to members for the 2024 to 2025 scheme year, unless they exercise their discretion to delay this for a further year.

The report stated that the discretion can only be exercised if the administering authority considers it reasonable in all the circumstances in the case of a particular member or class of members, and that affected members must be notified that the discretion has been exercised in relation to them in their 2024/25 ABS.

The report stated that all pensioner members have been assessed and any amendments needed as a consequence of the judgment will have been processed by the end of the implementation phase. It also noted that records for most active members have been updated to reflect any remedial service, but that due to software limitations, those active members who joined since April 2022 and have transferred in remedial service from another LGPS fund or another public service pension scheme are yet to be assessed. The report also stated that records of deferred members have not been processed due to software limitations and resources.

The report proposed that active members, excluding those who have not been assessed, that qualify for an Underpin addition will have this reflected in this year's ABS. It also proposed that those active members who have not been assessed will include a statement in this year's ABS confirming that the pension may be protected by the McCloud remedy, but it has not been possible to reflect any protection in this year's statement, and that deferred ABSs will include a statement confirming that the pension may be protected by the McCloud remedy, but it has not been possible to reflect any protection in this year's statement. The report stated that the RBKC Pensions Team will assess, and update, deferred and remaining active members to include any remedial service by 31 August 2026.

The Pensions Team requested the Board's views and acceptance to exercise their discretion not to include remediable service information in the Annual Benefit Statement issued to the group of active members who have not been assessed and all deferred members for the 2024 to 2025 scheme year.

Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were noted from Councillor Lloyd North and Jagdeep Birdi.