The Combined Fire Authority for County Durham and Darlington Pension Board Committee met to discuss pension scheme membership, performance indicators from the West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), and updates on age discrimination remedies. The board also reviewed the pension board risk register and correspondence related to pension scheme management. A key focus was on the McCloud remedy¹ and its implications for firefighters' pensions.

McCloud Remedy and Remediable Service Statements

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the age discrimination remedy, often referred to as the McCloud remedy, and the issuance of Remediable Service Statements (RSS) to eligible members.

WYPF have advised that they would not be able to produce any Annual Benefit Statements - Remediable Service Statements (ABS-RSSs) by the statutory deadline of 31 March 2025.

The board discussed the possibility of extending the deadline for issuing RSSs, acknowledging that delays were unavoidable. They considered using their discretion under Section 29(10)(b) of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Officers Act (PSPJOA) to set a later deadline for specific cases. The LGA recommends that scheme managers demonstrate that they have considered the circumstances of the member, not the scheme manager, when considering a delay.

The board also discussed scenarios where delays should be reported as breaches to the Pensions Regulator, including delays due to software development, data issues, or lack of resourcing.

The importance of communicating with members to manage their expectations regarding potential delays was emphasised, and a factsheet created by the LGA for members on why an RSS may be delayed was noted.

Pension Dashboards

The board received an update on the progress of the pension dashboards project. WYPF continues to provide the Service with regular updates on their preparation for connecting to the dashboard ecosystem in their client reports and meetings as well as providing a monthly pensions dashboard countdown. The Pensions Regulator have recently sent out their second dashboards readiness survey to FRAs.

Pension dashboards are designed to allow individuals to view all of their pension information in one place online.

At a prior meeting it was agreed that WYPF would use Bravura as the Integrated Service Provider as a conduit between WYPF and the Dashboard, as WYPF do not have the resource or the skills to do this internally.

Scheme Membership and Performance

The Pensions Update report provided details on scheme membership as of March 2025:

• 1992 Scheme: 0 active members
• 2006 Scheme: 0 active members
• Retained Modified Scheme: 0 active members
• 2015 Scheme: 441 active members

The report also included data on new starters, leavers, pensioner members, and deferred members across various schemes.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from WYPF were reviewed for February 2025. While most targets were met, some areas, such as Transfer In Quote and Deferred Benefits Set Up on Leaving, experienced delays due to documentation issues and high workloads.

Risk Register

Alison Harrison discussed the Pension Board Risk Register, which outlines potential risks to the pension scheme and the measures in place to mitigate them. Risks include data breaches, failures in pension administration, and incorrect application of pension scheme rules.

Correspondence

The board reviewed correspondence received, including FPS Bulletins and updates on the McCloud remedy. Key items included:

• Home Office updates on contingent decisions for opted-out service related to the McCloud remedy.
• Guidance on self-assessment for pension tax and the importance of communicating this information to members.
• Concerns raised by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) regarding delays in the delivery of the Sargent/McCloud remedy by Civica².