Firefighter Pension Scheme 1992 · CAS-83544-R4Z8

CAS-83544-R4Z8

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Mr N

Scheme Firefighter Pension Scheme 1992 (the Scheme)

Respondent Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service (WFRS)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties The sequence of events is not in dispute, so I have only set out the salient points. I acknowledge there were other exchanges of information between all the parties.

On 15 November 2007, the Scheme sent Mr N a deferred benefit statement. Within the statement it said:

“Following your recent termination of employment from the WFRS, you have become entitled to a deferred pension of £8802.52 per annum, which normally becomes payable from July 2030.

There is provision for the pension to be paid at an earlier date should you become permanently disabled…” 1 CAS-83544-R4Z8 From 2017 to 2022, WFRS sent Mr N his annual benefit statements (ABS), which informed him that his benefits were payable from July 2030.

On 18 May 2020, Mr N telephoned WFRS to ask about the pension options that were available to him as he was approaching age 50. He spoke with a representative who informed him that he would speak with his colleagues and get back to him in due course.

On 27 May 2020, WFRS wrote to Mr N to confirm that he would need to speak with its Human Resources department to request for his benefits to be paid before his NRA and that this would only be possible if he became permanently disabled as per the Scheme Regulations.

Between May to August 2020, Mr N telephoned the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). During one of the calls, Mr N requested confirmation from MaPS that it understood the details of the Scheme. Mr N said that he was informed that given the McCloud Judgment, he would be able to access his pension early and that it would be solely down to the decision makers to allow for this.

On 14 August 2020, WFRS wrote a letter to Mr N. It said in summary:-

• Mr N’s ABS was enclosed.

• On 20 December 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that the transitional arrangements introduced as part of the 2015 reforms to the Firefighter’s Pension Scheme (the 2015 Scheme) were discriminatory and therefore, unlawful.

• The Government accepted that all public service pension schemes were similarly affected and were working on removing discrimination from the schemes for all affected members.

On 17 December 2020, Mr N submitted a complaint to WFRS under stage one of the Scheme’s Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP). He said in summary:-

Since the McCloud Judgment he had been left without a clear understanding of his pension availability and the approach WFRS was taking to remove age discrimination.

He believed it was age discrimination that deferred members would only receive their pension benefits upon them reaching age 60.

Given the known health impacts for fire service personnel, it was unacceptable to have to wait until age 60 to receive pensionable benefits.

The MaPS informed him that all pensions had a mechanism for earlier reduced pensionable payment and that it was down to the decision makers to provide that option to members.

On 18 February 2021, the following events took place:-

2 CAS-83544-R4Z8 Mr N wrote to WFRS requesting an update in relation to his IDRP stage one complaint as it had exceeded its two month response time.

WFRS wrote to Mr N to confirm that a response had been drafted and was being reviewed by its legal team. It also said that it hoped to send the response to him in the next week.

On 25 February 2021, WFRS sent Mr N its IDRP stage one response by post.

On 4 March 2021, Mr N wrote to WFRS to request an update in relation to his complaint.

On the same day, WFRS resent Mr N the stage one IDRP response. The response said in summary:-

Mr N was a member of the Scheme for the period of 29 December 1994 to 23 October 2007.

It was not possible for it to deviate from Regulation B5 of The Firemen’s Pension Scheme Order 1992, and as such it could not make decisions around when pensions became payable for individuals.

With regard to the McCloud/Sargeant litigation information on the ABS, this was a standard statement in order to update members who might potentially be affected by the case.

It apologised if this information caused Mr N confusion, however it confirmed that the McCloud litigation related only to the discriminatory impact of transitional protections under the Firefighters Pension Scheme (England) Regulations 14 for those members who transferred to the 2015 Scheme.

As Mr N had left employment before the 2015 Scheme was introduced, he was not affected by the transitional protections.

The Pensions Schemes Act 2015, introduced new pension freedoms from 6 April 2015 to allow certain individuals more freedom and choices to access their pension as they wished from age 55. However, this did not include individuals who held benefits in an unfunded public service defined benefits scheme, such as the Scheme.

It did not uphold Mr N’s complaint.

On the same day, Mr N submitted a stage two IDRP complaint to WFRS. He said in summary:-

He was dissatisfied with the IDRP stage one response as WFRS had failed to respond to him within the quoted two months it promised.

The language used in Regulation B5 was age discriminatory and did not withstand the standards to be acceptable in 2021. 3 CAS-83544-R4Z8 MaPS had informed him that the NRA was 55 in the UK and it was the discretion of WFRS to allow the pension to be taken earlier at a reduced amount.

He did not know of any other pension arrangement that did not allow an option to take an early pension at a reduced amount.

It was his understanding that it was solely within WFRS’s discretion to allow a pension to be taken early at a reduced amount.

It was discriminatory that in order to take the pension early, he must be disabled.

On 18 March 2021, WFRS provided its stage two IDRP response to Mr N. It said in summary:-

The Scheme’s Regulations were clear that for members who left the Scheme before their NRA, their accrued pension benefits were deferred and became due for payment at age 60.

It had no discretion to pay benefits any earlier unless a member became permanently disabled.

The information provided to Mr N by MaPS was not relevant to the Scheme that Mr N was in.

Following the complaint being referred to The Pensions Ombudsman, Mr N and WFRS made further submissions that have been summarised below.

WFRS’s position

Mr N left the Scheme before his NRA. On leaving the Scheme, Mr N was informed of the value of his pension benefits and when they would be due for payment, which was when he reached NRA, on his 60th birthday. He was also informed that benefits could only be brought into payment earlier if he became permanently disabled.

Within the Regulations, the NRA for deferred benefits is age 60. There is not an option to take payment from an earlier date at a reduced rate, however this option is available within the Firefighter’s Pension Scheme 2006 and 2015, which does not apply to Mr N as his membership relates only to the Scheme.

At no point in Mr N’s request for early payment had he made mention that he required early payment of his benefits on ill health grounds.

Mr N was sent ABS since 2017 which informed him of the date his benefits would be paid.

Mr N referred to the McCloud Judgment after seeking advice from MaPS However, he was not eligible for this remedy as he was not in pensionable service under the relevant public service pension scheme on or before 31 March 2012 and on or after 1 April 2015 without a qualifying break.

4 CAS-83544-R4Z8 It agreed it could have made it clearer to him that he was not affected by the McCloud Judgement or in scope for this remedy.

Mr N’s position

He believed WFRS’s representative informed him during the telephone call of 18 May 2020 that he would be able to access his pension given the McCloud Judgment, so he relied on this information and believed he would be able to access his benefits before his NRA.

This information was backed up by MaPS.

He does not understand why he is not able to take his benefits early at a reduced rate.

The language used within the Regulations is outdated and age discriminatory.

Adjudicator’s Opinion

5 CAS-83544-R4Z8

He disagreed that his NRA was age 60 and that the Scheme Regulations referenced age 50 being the earliest age the pension can be accessed and age 60 being the age upon which members have to exit the Scheme, due to the nature of the job, members could not operationally work beyond 60 years of age.

He did not agree that he was fully aware of what he agreed to when he signed his employment contract 31 years ago. At no point did WFRS go through the Regulations with him.

When he left employment with WFRS in 2007, they did not discuss his pension with him, nor did they send him annual statements from 1994 to 2007.

WFRS caused confusion and did not tailor its correspondence to each member.

After a google search of “how can I access my deferred 1992 firefighters pension earlier” he was able to find that a member is able to access his deferred pension at the sole discretion of the fire chief. So, he does not understand why he is not able to access his pension early.

He feels that by not being able to access his pension until his NRA he is being punished for leaving his employment.

Ombudsman’s decision

1 See Regulation A13. 2 See Regulation B2(1), and Regulation A16 for the meaning of ‘retire’. 3 See Regulation B1(1).

6 CAS-83544-R4Z8

I do not uphold Mr N’s complaint.

Dominic Harris

Pensions Ombudsman 7 April 2025

4 For example, The Equality Act (Age Exceptions for Pension Schemes) Order 2010: Paragraph 3 and

Paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 (no breach of the non-discrimination rule where there is a different early retirement pivot age for deferred members and active members). 7 CAS-83544-R4Z8

Appendix 1

Firefighter Pension Scheme 1992 Regulations The Firemen’s Pension Scheme Order 1992, Regulation B5 states:

Deferred pension

B5—

8 CAS-83544-R4Z8 (4) A deferred pension becomes payable -

(a) from the 60th birthday of the person entitled to it, or

9