Frequently asked questions

We want to be clear that the contingent decision process is separate from that of Remedy. This only relates to individuals who opted out or would have bought additional service but for the discrimination.
On 1 October 2023, anyone in the pension for the remedy period (2015-2022) was automatically ‘rolled back’ to your legacy scheme, either the 1992 or 2006 scheme. Following this rollback, information will be made available to you about your benefit options for the remedy period through a Remediable Service Statement (RSS) during 2025. For members retiring from 1 October 2023 but before RSS is provided, benefit options will be provided upon retirement.

The RSS will show any contribution adjustment and interest due. The contributions will also be subject to a tax relief adjustment. For some members, there may be an option whereby the scheme owes money to the member. In these circumstances, there will be a compensation payment which is subject to tax and interest adjustments. In all cases, pension contribution adjustments will be made before the pension and lump sum payment.

Therefore, it is unlikely that you will make your remedy decision (regarding your pension and your contributions for April 2015 to March 2022) this year. Until you receive your RSS statement you do not need to do anything. However, the separate contingent decision should be given consideration now because the deadline for submitting claim forms is 30 September 2024.

In terms of the evidence required, the “one or two sentences” is intended to allow you to explain your circumstances and why you feel you are eligible to apply. You are not limited in what you can say here if you feel you need to give an extra explanation. The guidance makes clear that in all cases, the member or eligible decision maker must provide a short statement in their own words to confirm the decision that was made, the reasons for the decision, and what they would have done differently had the discrimination identified by the courts not occurred.

The next element of the form asks you to then support that statement with any additional evidence, which may take a number of forms. Unfortunately, we cannot provide a comprehensive list of what evidence is required, as we have to judge each case on its merits and evidence could differ significantly from individual to individual. Examples of what you could submit as evidence are below, but please note this is not a comprehensive list.

Opt-Out

1. information you provided us in the years before or during the remedy period about your intention regarding your continued membership of the Scheme
2. information you provided to us in the years before or during the remedy period about your intention regarding your retirement intentions
3. information you provided to us in the years before or during the remedy period about your intention regarding your request to leave or not join the scheme
4. information you provided to confirm that you are a litigant in the “injury to feelings” claim in respect of the discrimination
5. a completed opt-out form stating the reason for opting out
6. a statement from you that you opted out due to the remedy and why. (If you don’t have any other evidence but can explain your motivations).

Additional Service

1. an added pension account in FPS 2015
2. some other form of additional pension provision
3. information you provided to us in the years before or during the remedy period about your intention regarding paying additional contributions to increase benefits
4. information you provided to confirm that you are a litigant in the injury to feelings claim in respect of the discrimination
5. a statement from you that you would have bought Additional Service in the Legacy Scheme but didn’t due to the discrimination and why
6. you can find this list of example evidence and further information in the FPS Member website guidance.

We have tried to contact all those we think might be eligible, but we may have missed some cases where you are eligible. A small number of individuals may not have received the email directly if their email contacts are not up to date in our pensions system, normally if they are deferred or retired members.

However, you do not need to have received an email to make an application and you can still access the same communication and application form on both Mesh (the service intranet) and the WMFS website.

The decision to communicate to everyone who might be eligible based on broad criteria was deliberate. That does mean some people who have received this communication will not be eligible or may not be interested in applying. However, we decided that communicating more widely was preferable to the risk of missing lots of individuals. The alternative would have been to check every individual’s specific circumstance in advance to narrow down the list, but this would have significantly delayed our starting the process and would still have required individuals to apply and provide evidence for the reasons outlined above.

In relation to additional years specifically, you are only eligible for a contingent decision if you would have been eligible for additional years in your original scheme at the time. For example, in the 1992 scheme regulations, you could only purchase additional years if you would not otherwise have reached 30 years’ (40/60ths) service before you reached the retirement age of 55. That restriction still applies, as you could not have made the decision to buy additional years between 2015-2022 even if the changes had not been made.

We understand it may seem like eligibility for a contingent decision should be clear-cut and that the pensions team could determine who is or isn’t eligible in advance. Unfortunately, this is not the case. For both opt-outs and additional service, a contingent decision is based on decisions you made and the reasons you made them. You have to be able to show that a decision you made (such as to opt-out from the scheme) or did not make (such as to buy additional years in the scheme) would have been different if it were not for the changes between 2015-2022 which the courts later found to have been discriminatory. Only you can know your intent, or what you would or would not have done. For example, if you opted out of the pension scheme during this period but for reasons other than the changes to the scheme, you would not be eligible for a contingent decision.

Firefighter pension scheme

If your question is not answered in our FAQs, or on our pensions page, we would recommend you reach the information provided on the FPS Member website, which covers a wide of other topics.

Local Government Pension Scheme

If your question is not answered in our FAQs, or on our pensions page, you can find out more on the Local Government Pensions Scheme website, or directly with the West Midlands Pension Fund via their website.

You can transfer out of the pension scheme, but it is important you consider the implications of doing so. If the value of your pension is more than £30,000 you must provide evidence that you have sought independent financial advice before we can transfer your pension, and we would recommend you seek financial advice before making any decision on transferring out of the scheme.

The Government recommends the Unbiased website to find an independent financial advisor.

You can opt-out, although it is important that you carefully consider the implications of opting out of the scheme. We would recommend you read the benefits of the 2015 scheme, and always take regulated, independent financial advice.

You will be re-enrolled into the pension scheme on the auto-enrolment date as required by The Pension Regulator.

No, the Pensions Team cannot legally provide you with pension financial advice.

They can provide you with information such as a transfer valuation or estimate of pension benefits.

If you need assistance with making decisions on your pension or planning for retirement, we recommend you seek the services of a regulated financial advisor. The Government recommends the Unbiased website to find an independent financial advisor.