Only some members will be affected by the changes.
You’re affected if you joined a public service pension scheme on or before 31 March 2012 and:
- you had pensionable service between 1 April 2015 and the 31 March 2022 (or your retirement date if earlier), or you left service after 31 March 2012 but returned within 5 years
- your pensionable service was in the legacy scheme (1995/2008 Scheme), or your pensionable service was in the 2015 Scheme, but would have been pensionable service in the legacy scheme but for the discrimination
- you did not choose to give up your transitional protection to move to the 2015 Scheme (option to give up protection – OTGUP)
You’ll be asked to decide which pension scheme benefits you’d like to receive for the remedy period.
If you joined a public service pension scheme after the 31 March 2012, you are not affected.
The remedy period refers to the timeframe the discrimination could have applied, which is between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.
If you’re affected
You’ll be asked to choose your pension scheme benefits for the remedy period when your benefits become payable. For example, when you retire.
You can find more information on when you’ll make your choice on our webpage: When you'll make your decision about your NHS Pension benefits
Automatically moving all members back into their legacy pension scheme without giving them a choice would leave some worse off because some members may find they’re better off with 2015 Scheme benefits. So, we’re giving you a choice to make sure you receive the scheme benefits that are best for you.
If you received either full or tapered protection in 2015, allowing you to remain in the 1995/2008 NHS Pension Scheme, you’ll also be offered a choice of either 1995/2008 Scheme or 2015 Scheme pension benefits for any service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.
Finding more information
Take a look at our am I affected decision tree (PDF: 450KB) to check if you’ll need to choose between pension benefits.
If you have any questions, you’ll find more information on our knowledge base. We update this regularly.
Visit our Member Hub for more information on your current membership of the NHS Pension Scheme, including what type of member you are.