We’ll offer you a choice between your legacy scheme (final salary) benefits and your reformed (CARE) scheme for your service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. This is called the Remedy period.
This choice will be offered to all members, including those who had 'protected status' when the pension reforms were introduced and remained in the legacy scheme.
To help you decide, we’ll send you a choice letter, known as a Remediable Service Statement (RSS). This will show your pension benefits side-by-side in your final salary and CARE scheme for the Remedy period, to help you decide which option is the right one for you.
I’ve received my Remediable Service Statement (RSS)
What is a Remediable Service Statement?
You’ve been sent a Remediable Service Statement (RSS) - a choice letter that compares your pension benefits under:
- Your legacy scheme (final salary), and
- Your reformed scheme (CARE)
This comparison covers your service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, known as the Remedy period.
What you need to do:
- Review your RSS carefully
- Decide which scheme benefits you want to take for the remedy period
- Follow the instructions in your letter to make your choice
I haven’t received my Remediable Service Statement (RSS) yet
When will I get my Remediable Service Statement (RSS):
We are working on the remaining statements and we will update members who are still waiting for an RSS in January and April 2027.
What you can do now:
- Ensure your contact details are up to date by logging in to our online pension portal.
- Keep an eye out for your choice letter in the post
- You don’t need to take any action until your RSS arrives
Why the delay?
We’re sorry you’ve not yet received your RSS. It’s taking longer than expected to develop the calculators required to produce accurate remediable service statements (RSS) and the processes to put members’ choices into payment.
We have been developing calculator functionality, starting with the most straightforward cases and then building functionality to address complex circumstances.
Each calculator takes time to develop and must be assured by the Government Actuary’s Department.
A significant amount of this development work has been completed and tested as part of the pilot work undertaken in the police scheme. As a result, we are able to build on this work and the development, testing, and implementation for the remaining cases will be much quicker.
From now until March 2027 we will be focusing our Remedy resources, which currently work across the police and firefighters’ schemes, on finalising the development work for the remaining members of the police scheme.
We will then be in the best position to adapt the already developed calculators and focus our full project resources on the firefighters’ scheme, prioritising members who retired due to ill-health.
Why does the timeline keep extending?
The 2015 Remedy is a remediation process of a scale unprecedented in the UK pensions sector. We have had to develop the calculators required to produce remediable service statements (RSS). This has taken longer than anticipated.
We regret the impact this has had on members. However, we now have processes in place to offer a choice to retiring and retired members and have adjusted our annual statement processes to offer dual estimates.
Support and guidance
When you recieve your RSS it will contain important information to help you make your choice. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to understand by laying it out in sections. The introductory letter explains why you are getting a choice and when this needs to be sent to the SPPA.
As soon as your decision has been processed by the SPPA, we will send you a confirmation letter. We aim to process your decision within six to eight weeks of receipt of your RSS Choice. Depending on when your pension is processed, this may not be the next payment you are due to receive. As we are processing large volumes, there may be unavoidable delays but we will try to keep this to a minimum.
The SPPA cannot provide financial advice. If you need help with your decisions, consider talking to a professional financial adviser.
I’ve received an Ill Health Retirement Review letter
I’ve received an Ill Health Retirement Review letter
We’re reviewing ill health pensions for members who are eligible for 2015 Remedy. This is to understand whether you would have been eligible for ill-health benefits under your alternative pension scheme.
We’ll use the evidence that was provided at the time of your original application so you won’t need to send us any new information or be examined by a medical professional.
Once the review is completed, we’ll contact you with the outcome and tell you what to do next. We won’t make any changes to your pension as a result of the review.
If you want us to review your pension
So that the review can be carried out, you need to give us your consent. If you don’t consent to a review your Remediable Service Statement might not include ill-health benefits for your alternative pension scheme. You can tell us by returning the decision form included with the letter.