Issue - meetings

Regulatory and Policy Update

Meeting: 10/10/2022 - Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Local Pension Board of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme (Item 4)

4 Regulatory and Policy Update pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Minutes:

The item was introduced by Vicky Jenks, who said that although the abatement policy would be discussed at the next meeting, it would also come back in February after being discussed at December’s Staff and Pensions Committee. It needed to be updated in line with the Ombudsman ruling so that it was not a blanket policy, as cases should be looked at on an individual basis. The policy was being worked on by the HR advisory team. Regarding issues surrounding McCloud and immediate detriment, Vicky Jenks said Warwickshire was now paying Category 1 cases for anyone retiring between now and October 2023, after the previous decision to pause payments. Barnaby Briggs (Assistant Chief Fire Officer) said he was aware discussions about a possible class action relating to immediate detriment were taking place. He added that as his pension was an immediate detriment case he needed to declare an interest and would not take part in the vote on the recommendation.

 

The Chair asked for clarification that additional costs to the Council had been considered when making the decision to unpause payment of Category 1 cases. Vicky Jenks confirmed the LGA spreadsheet calculator had been used to assess costs per individual case and this had formed part of the report to the Scheme Manager in order to make a decision.


It was resolved that members noted the contents of the report and endorsed the decision regarding the payment of Category 1 cases in relation to immediate detriment.