We are aware that the Court of Appeal has handed down the judgement in the Firefighters transitional appeals case, finding that the transitional protections introduced with the new Pension scheme in 2015 were unlawfully discriminatory on grounds of age.
It is important to note that the case relates only to the transitional protection arrangements in the 2015 firefighters’ pension scheme, and whether these are discriminatory. It does not address the introduction of that scheme itself by the primary legislation of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.
What happens next?
We realise that scheme members want to understand what this means for their pension, however, we cannot yet speculate on what remedy might involve. The judgement remits it to the employment tribunal to consider remedy, but before that step Government can apply for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. So it will most likely be many months before we are able to understand what this means for pension scheme benefits.
In the immediate future, your pension benefits will remain calculated as under the current regulations.
We will endeavour to keep you informed as things progress.