On the go: Bulk transfers between public service pension schemes have recommenced in England, Scotland and Wales, after they were put on hold due to uncertainty over the impact of the McCloud judgment.
The move was revealed in an update published by the Government Actuary’s Department on May 10, almost two years after it decided to temporarily pause work on almost all bulk transfers while uncertainty remained around the details of the McCloud remedy.
In December 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled in the McCloud case that the transitional protection afforded to older members in 2015 under the introduction of career average revalued earnings constituted unlawful age discrimination.
A bulk transfer exercise involves transferring benefits from one public service pension arrangement to another, and a key part is providing in-scope members with details of their benefit entitlement in their former public pension arrangement and what they are being offered in their new one.
However, the benefit information available at the time did not reflect the remedy that some members were expected to receive under McCloud.
The GAD’s update on May 10 stated: “Scheme managers have agreed that they are content to restart paused bulk transfers between public service pension schemes for England, Scotland and Wales from April 1 2022.”
However, the GAD said bulk transfers that involve a public service pension scheme for Northern Ireland remain paused.
In 2020, in response to the McCloud judgment, the GAD suspended the certification of broad comparability, which is to ensure a new employer offers transferring staff a package of benefits for future service with an overall value that is worth as much as they would have had with their current employer.
The GAD said in its update that it is now “able to start a rolling programme of recommencing some broad comparability work following an analysis of developments and discussions with stakeholders”.
The department said a GAD adviser will be in touch to discuss recommencement of broad comparability work, and that initially the assessments will only involve the assessment of Care benefits.
For transfers prior to April 1 2022, there may be further adjustments needed to address the McCloud remedy, and the GAD added that it will notify contracting authorities as soon as possible.
