After yet another blazing hot week, I let out a small cheer when I saw that clouds and rain (and cooler temperatures) have been forecast.

Meanwhile, in the world of public sector pensions, it is quite the opposite. An update from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has shone some light on its roadmap for implementing the McCloud remedy in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

If you aren’t fully up-to-date with McCloud, I’d suggest reading Doug Mullen's excellent e-briefing and his post on the most recent developments.

Some readers might recall that, in July 2020, the Government published a consultation on draft regulations that will implement the McCloud remedy in the LGPS. As a quick reminder, members of the LGPS who met certain criteria (including the requirement to be within ten years of normal retirement age) when they joined the new career average rebased earnings (CARE) scheme on 1 April 2014 were granted protections, which meant that the benefits accrued in the new CARE scheme would be at least as high as the final salary pension they would have accrued if they had not moved. The draft regulations proposed to remove the age requirement from this protection, allowing those who would otherwise have been eligible for protection to retrospectively be given the same protection on benefits that they accrued between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2022.

In the July edition of the Local Government Pensions Committee bulletin, the DLUHC confirmed that the Government’s long-awaited response to this consultation will be published later this year.

The DLUHC also confirmed that it will publish an updated set of draft regulations and a further consultation will take place in 'early 2023'. According to the DLUHC, the updated draft regulations will incorporate technical feedback received as part of the July 2020 consultation and will also reflect new powers granted under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022.

The bulletin also confirms the DULHC’s intention for the final version of the regulations to be made 'later in 2023', with the regulations coming into force on 1 October 2023.

A lot can happen between now and October 2023, and if a week is a long time in politics, nearly 14 months must be an eternity! However, we now have a rough idea of the road ahead for the implementation of the McCloud remedy in the LGPS.

The next big event in the LGPS McCloud remedy calendar will be the publication of the Government’s response to the July 2020 consultation. Until then, watch this space!