The Police Federation of England and Wales drew up a list of more than 20 questions to be considered at this week’s first meeting of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the pensions Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) considering the remedy to the discrimination found in the implementation of the 2015 Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) Police Pension Scheme.
The Federation worked with a team of legal advisers and pensions specialists to compile the list which covered what they saw as ‘critical’ issues including seeking assurances officers will have access to sufficient information and, potentially, independent financial advice to help them understand which scheme provides them with the better outcome.
“The first meeting of the SAB, TWG was held on 11 February 2020. In the first instance, our role was to ensure that Government understands the scale and breadth of the problem,” says the Federation’s national secretary, Alex Duncan, in an update issued yesterday evening.
“The Government has already committed to rectifying for everyone the discrimination caused by transitional protections – not only claimants. Discussions in the TWG focus on how best to achieve this, as well as considering other knock-on effects that any remedy will have, such as the impact on contributions, taxation, and – crucially – on the most vulnerable, such as officers who have ill-health retired.”
He added: “Matters arising from the McCloud judgment on the discrimination caused by the current transitional protections in the CARE 2015 scheme will be complex to unpick, and this will take some months.”
The seven main staff associations – the Police Federation, Scottish Police Federation, Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Police Superintendents’ Association, Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, Superintendents’ Association of Northern Ireland and Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association – are working together with key employer representatives through the SAB to reach a solution.
An update, including FAQs, will be published later this month. The Federation will continue to participate in the TWG meetings.