HMT ran the public consultation over the summer in 2020 to gather stakeholder views on the government’s two policy proposals – a deferred choice underpin or an immediate choice exercise.

The consultation closed in October 2020 and it has been decided that members will receive a “deferred choice” of which pension scheme benefits they would prefer to take when they retire.

Members will be able to choose to receive legacy pension scheme benefits or benefits equivalent to those available under the reformed scheme for service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. The government couldn’t put all members back into their legacy schemes to remove the discrimination, as that would have left some members worse off.

There is currently nothing for members to do as the process of passing legislation and implementation needs to take place. We will inform you of developments as they are known.

For more information, read the consultation response FAQs.

For background information about the 2020 consultation, go to the dedicated consultation page.