In 2015, the government introduced new laws which resulted in a new pension scheme for firefighters - the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 (FPS 2015). These laws included protections which meant that some members of the existing schemes (FPS 1992 and FPS 2006) didn't join FPS 2015 either straight away or at all, depending on their age. Following a legal challenge known as Sargeant, the courts determined that the protections given to members were age discriminatory.
On 15 July 2019, the government made a written statement [HCWS1725] accepting the court’s decision. They confirmed that they would engage with the Employment Tribunal to agree how to fix the discrimination. The written statement confirmed that this fix, or remedy, would apply across all public sector schemes.
The changes introduced on 1 October 2023 gives all affected members the same choice of benefits for the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022).
Some members who had membership of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS) during the remedy period, have sadly passed away. These members are still entitled to receive remedy, but these choices will now fall to the eligible decision maker which may result in additional payments being owed to or from the estate of the deceased member, but also in additional payments being due to or from any beneficiaries. Death benefits that are payable vary not only between the different FPSs but also depend on whether the death occurred in service, as a deferred member or as a pensioner member, and differ based on the number and type of beneficiaries there are.
This factsheet sets out the general position about the process for beneficiaries, and the potential impact any decision made may have on the benefits payable to both the members estate and beneficiaries.