The FBU has secured a significant win for firefighters who are currently retired and who are not receiving their correct pension (immediate detriment cases) and those who were set to retire into an incorrect pension, after the introduction of the 2015 pension scheme.
In December 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled that firefighters were entitled to be returned to their previous pension schemes from the 2015 scheme, which in most cases is worse, if they so wished.
The government has since accepted that firefighters should be paid the correct, higher, pension and lump sum with effect from the date of retirement, and if a member has already retired (or should have been allowed to do so) they will therefore have to pay arrears with interest. However legislation remedying the issue is not due to be introduced until October 2023.
Following a memorandum of understanding between the union and the Local Government Association, eligible members will likely be able to have their pension cases dealt with within 90 days of making an application – in other words, financial remedies for the 2015 pension scheme should now start being delivered very soon.
This result follows legal action brought by the FBU and representations made by the FBU in negotiations with fire and rescue authorities’ and the Local Government Association’s lawyers.
The result means that a significant number of FBU members could see a substantial positive impact to their living standards in the near future.
Mark Rowe, national officer at the Fire Brigades Union, said:
“The FBU has been clear throughout that significant delays in members receiving the pensions they deserve is unacceptable. We are pleased to have reached this conclusion. The union will always fight for the best possible outcomes for its members.”
Who is this about?
The process has been set up in relation to “immediate detriment” members. Immediate detriment members are those who have retired since 2015 or are to do so before the remedying legislation is introduced.
Their pensions are smaller than they should be as a result of being placed on the incorrect pension.
Once the legislation comes in this process will expire.
The scheme doesn’t apply to the dependents of “immediate detriment” members. There is a commitment to deal with such cases within the same timescales as those set out below, but handling the cases of dependents of members who have died is too sensitive and fact-specific for this particular process.
How this will work
Members will need to make an application to the fire and rescue authority (FRA) your pension is with. Details on how to do this are in the memorandum of understanding, which is attached to the relevant circular.
The aim is then that the process will be completed within 90 days of members making an application – i.e. members will receive a payment by this date, if they are in scope.
Firstly, once a member has made an application, the FRA will have to tell the member whether they accept that the member is covered by this process. They’ll have to do this within 14 days.
Then, the FRA will have 62 days from the date of receiving the application in which to provide the member with a statement of the benefits that the member would be entitled to under the terms of the old pension scheme and the new one. If the member has already retired, the FRA will have to send a statement of the arrears for the amount that would have been payable at the time of retirement.
The member will then have to choose which benefit package to take – the one in line with the old pension scheme, or the one in line with the new pension scheme.
The FRA will then have 28 days to pay any arrears from receiving notice of which benefit package the member has chosen.
After receiving the member’s choice the FRA will also then process future pension benefits on a “business as usual” basis, depending on the package that the member has chosen.
This process taking effect is conditional on fire and rescue authorities adopting it, but there is no reason for them not to and the FBU has been clear it will have no hesitation in litigating against FRAs where necessary.
More information is available here.
