The McCloud scandal stems from a 2018 court ruling, known as the McCloud judgment, which found that changes made to public sector pension schemes in 2015 were discriminatory on the basis of age.
This affected workers such as teachers, NHS staff, firefighters, and civil servants, who were moved into less generous “reformed” pension schemes if they were younger, while older colleagues were allowed to stay in the original, more beneficial “legacy” schemes.
The ruling said this treated younger members unfairly, violating age discrimination laws.
Affected former school leaders have warned the issue has the same dynamics as the Post Office scandal, with the government “turning a blind eye” as it is not “high on the priority list”.
As part of potential future journalism work, I’m on the look out for case studies of those affected. If this sounds like you, please fill out the form below.
Case studies
For public interest purposes in the media.
Your message has been sent
Timeline since 2012
April 2012
If you were a member of a public sector pension scheme before 1 April 2012, you may be eligible for protection under the McCloud remedy. This protection was introduced to fix unfair treatment caused by pension changes that affected younger workers more than older ones.
April 2014 to March 2022 – The Remedy Period
Between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022, many pension schemes changed how they calculated pensions—shifting from a “final salary” model to a “career average” system. This switch impacted how much people would get when they retired. The years between 2014 and 2022 are now under review to see if some workers should get a better deal.
April 2022 Onward
From 1 April 2022, all public sector workers, no matter their age, were moved to the new “career average” scheme. This created a level playing field going forward. But it didn’t fix the unfair treatment that happened between 2014 and 2022—that’s where the McCloud remedy comes in.
October 2023 – The Remedy Officially Begins
On 1 October 2023, the government officially rolled out the McCloud remedy. This meant that younger workers were finally given the same pension protections older workers received earlier. The goal is to give everyone a fair choice: to stick with the new scheme or switch back to the old one for those 2014–2022 years.
August 2025 – Pension Statements Will Show the Changes
If you’re still working, your annual pension statement will include clear information showing any changes made under the McCloud fix by 31 August 2025. This will help you see if your pension for those years has been increased or adjusted.
For Retired Members – Decision Time by March 2025
If you’ve already retired, you should receive a detailed statement (called a Remediable Service Statement) by March 2025. You’ll have a year to decide whether to keep your current pension or switch to the alternative option that may give you more money for the affected years. However, unions have told me many members have not seen these statements. It expects to take another two years to get the paperwork about the option to members.
Origins
As per the Prospect union: The McCloud judgement refers to the Court of Appeal’s ruling that Government’s 2015 public sector pension reforms unlawfully treated existing public sectors differently based upon members’ age on the 1 April 2012.
The judgement came after two Employment Tribunals concerning the pensions of Judges’ (McCloud) and Firefighters’ (Sargeant) respectively.
In order for age discrimination to be lawful, it must be a proportionate way of achieving a legitimate aim. The Court of Appeal ruled that in these two cases the Government failed to demonstrate that the transitional protection arrangements were based upon a legitimate aim.
The key content of the judgment said: “We have found that in both the judges’ and firefighters’ cases the manner in which the transitional provisions have been implemented has given rise to unlawful direct age discrimination.
“In neither case could the admitted direct age discrimination be justified. In the Judges’ case, we see no error in the reasoning of Judge Williams either in his assessment of aims or means.”
BC Media 