The Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has stopped making payments to members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme affected by the McCloud ruling after pressure from the government.
Members affected by the judgment, which found 2015 reforms to the judicial and firefighter pension schemes unlawful on the basis of age discrimination, are said to be those who have taken or are in receipt of benefits before the implementation of remedy legislation, which the campaigners said could see them “face an immediate detriment”.
An agreement was reached between the Fire Brigades Union and the Local Government Association in October 2021, which the FBU said allowed for these cases to be dealt with now without waiting until October 2023, when legislation intended to address the issue is expected to arrive.
The immediate detriment payments have been met with opposition from the government.
I am anxious, as are members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, for absolute clarity around their pension entitlements
Ben Adams, Staffordshire commissioner for police, fire and rescue and crime
The FBU is now preparing legal action after it received a letter intended for chief fire officers, which it described as an attempt “to block firefighters receiving the pensions they are legally entitled to”.
The union informed members on June 6 that its head office had anonymously received a letter sent to all chief fire officers by the National Fire Chiefs Council, advising against applying immediate detriment before the legislation is implemented next year.
In response, it will now register immediate detriment claims through the courts for every FBU member, who it said was being denied their full pension. The issue is understood to affect around 1,400 people.
Some fire and rescue authorities have continued to make immediate detriment claims in the face of government opposition. The Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has, however, confirmed to Pensions Expert that it has paused these payments.
‘The risks are higher than originally thought’
Staffordshire was one of a handful of FRAs that had started to process the immediate detriment payments to its retiring members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme.
“However, following a request from the government, including the Treasury and the Home Office, to cease the process, a decision was made at the commissioner’s strategic governance board on May 3 to pause this process, owing to a number of technical difficulties that had been identified,” a Staffordshire FRA spokesperson said.
“As soon as we are able to, we will inform all of those individuals affected, once issues have been addressed by the government.
“We continue to work closely with our local representative bodies and the Firefighters’ Pensions Scheme Advisory Board on this matter.”
The opening paragraph of a NFCC letter intended for chief fire officers, which the FBU received anonymously at its head office, highlights correspondence with the Treasury in March, which the NFCC said “clearly advises services not to be applying immediate detriment prior to legislation being in place”.
“HM Treasury’s view remains that processing immediate detriment cases before all the necessary legislation is in place could give rise to significant consequences for schemes, pension scheme members and services,” the letter continued.
It acknowledged, however, that decisions over immediate detriment cases lay with individual scheme managers.
Ben Adams, Staffordshire commissioner for police, fire and rescue and crime, told Pensions Expert: “I am anxious, as are members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, for absolute clarity around their pension entitlements and hope this will be forthcoming from government in the next few months.
“Unlike the majority of authorities I initially approved processing immediate detriment payments to those retiring because I considered that the risk to the future finances of the fire and rescue service in Staffordshire were low,” he continued.
“More recent national advice, however, has led me to conclude that the risks are higher than originally thought, and that council tax payers and even individual pensioners could lose out as a result of us acting before new legislation is in place.
“My primary concern is a fair deal for those that have served Staffordshire, so I have paused processing immediate detriment payments until we have certainty.”
West Midlands Fire Service resumes payments
Staffordshire is not alone in having paused immediate detriment payments. The West Midlands Fire Service has recently agreed to resume its payments having previously paused them.
Firefighters go to court over ‘letter aimed at blocking pensions
The Fire Brigades Union is preparing legal action after it received a letter intended for chief fire officers, which it described as an attempt “to block firefighters receiving the pensions they are legally entitled to”.
A West Midlands Fire Service spokesperson told Pensions Expert that the service decided to pause immediate detriment claims from December 2021, after revised government guidance was issued on November 29 2021.
At an audit and risk committee on June 7, however, the service agreed to resume making payments on immediate detriment cases.
It is understood that at least two other FRAs have continued to make immediate detriment payments.
