The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has opened a claim back scheme to compensate NHS pension scheme members who have suffered a financial loss due to discrimination.

In 2011 and 2015 the Treasury introduced reforms designed to make public service pensions more sustainable and affordable.

However a 2018 Court of Appeal judgement (the McCloud judgement) then ruled parts of the reforms were unlawful.

The McCloud judgement found that the Government had discriminated against younger pension scheme members by not giving them the same protection as older workers.

Members can apply to claim back the costs of direct financial losses that are due to the discrimination or application of the McCloud remedy.

NHSBSA will compensate scheme members up to £500, including VAT, to enable members who have a complex McCloud choice to take financial advice.

Graham Crossley, NHS pension specialist at Quilter, welcomed the scheme but said that £500 would not be enough to cover the cost of financial advice for some members.

He said: “This scheme will be welcome news for impacted members, however the £500 for financial advice may actually be insufficient to cover costs for the complex Financial Planning needed to determine the best choice for the client.”

The ‘McCloud choice’ is the decision members will need to make when they take their NHS pension benefits.

They will need to decide whether or not to move their benefits accrued between April 2015 and April 2022, that were rolled back into the 1995/2008 scheme on 1st October 2023, back into the 2015 scheme.

NHSBA will also compensate members up to £1,000 including VAT for support with the McCloud Annual Allowance Rollback Assessment. This is where a member will need to reassess their annual allowance tax position as a result of their NHS pension benefits accrued between April 2015 and April 2022 being rolled back into the 1995/2008 scheme on 1 October 2023.

There will be a time limit of 12 months from when members receive a remediable service statement for the McCloud Choice, or rollback pension saving statement for the Rollback Assessment.

The remediable service statement is unlikely to land until April 2024 for new pensioner members and NHSBSA said that it may be until April 2025 before existing pensioner members received these.

The rollback pension savings statements have a deadline of 6 October 2024 to be issued by scheme administrators.