AQW 3156/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 04/03/2020
Answered On Date: 16/03/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance (i) for his assessment of the McCloud Judgement; (ii) how the McCloud Judgement impacts members of public service pension schemes in Northern Ireland; and (iii) to detail the estimated costs to his Department to address discrimination found in the McCloud Judgement.

Answer:

There is a clear need to address age discrimination in devolved public service pension schemes as a consequence of the McCloud ruling. This is supported by legal advice.

This is a complex issue, as some members of the devolved public service pension schemes will have been better off in the old schemes, and some better off in the new schemes. The solution must ensure members can keep their accrued rights, whilst also removing discrimination for the future.

The quantum of any costs associated with addressing age discrimination in the devolved public service pension schemes is not yet available. Any increased expenditure on public service pensions, as a result of decisions to be taken in relation to the McCloud ruling, would be expected to be paid out over future decades as current public sector workers retire and their pensions start to be paid.

Pensions in payment are paid through AME (Annually Managed Expenditure) while the level of contributions required from employers is set in actuarial valuations of the schemes. The next valuations will set employer contribution rates from 2023. A number of factors could affect the valuations between now and then and it is too early to say whether employer contribution rates will increase from 2023.