Preparing for your remedy choice – update one (14 November 2024)

What is a remedy choice?

On 1 April 2015 public sector pension schemes were reformed and the Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) pension scheme was introduced. Most pension scheme members were moved from their legacy scheme (final salary) to the reformed (CARE) scheme, but some protections were put in place for members who were close to their retirement date. These protections meant that older members stayed in their pre-reform schemes. 

The Court of Appeal found that this discriminated against younger scheme members. The government is removing this discrimination for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. This is known as the remedy period. 

Offering you a remedy choice

The SPPA is developing a new system to calculate your benefit options in the reformed (CARE) scheme and legacy (final salary) scheme to enable you to have a remedy choice. This involves the careful calculation of benefits in both schemes for the remedy period as well as adjustments to any life events that may have occurred during that time. 

Remedy choice letter – Remediable Service Statement 

The SPPA will send you a choice letter, known as a Remediable Service Statement (RSS). The purpose of the RSS is to help you decide which benefits you want to take for the remedy period. 

Your RSS will contain a lot of important information and in these updates, we will help you to understand what you can expect to find in your RSS.

In this information video, you can find out more about the purpose of the RSS and get an overview of what to expect.

Look out for our next update.

Your remedy choice

We’ll write to you to make your choice by sending you a choice letter called a Remediable Service Statement (RSS). The regulatory deadline is 31 March 2025. However, in the event of a delay, we will issue communications to any members affected to advise them of this.

We want to keep you updated on progress being made to issue RSS. It has been difficult to provide specific dates with any degree of certainty given the complexity of delivering the 2015 Remedy. Therefore, we have removed reference to specific dates. We know from member feedback how frustrating these date changes have been.

We will keep you up to date with progress by publishing regular updates on this page so that you have a better understanding of what is involved in delivering your remedy choice. These updates will also provide you with information about what you can expect to find in your RSS. 
 

Some RSS may be sent out later than the schedule indicates as a result of data, processing or calculation issues relating to individual RSS.

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.

The outcome of this review could mean your pension will change.

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 don’t want us to review your pension

You need to let us know. Doing this will mean you’re still eligible for 2015 Remedy but 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.