Underpin protection

What is the underpin?

When public service pension schemes were reformed by the government to become career average revalued earnings (CARE) schemes in 2014 and 2015, it was decided to protect older members of the Scheme from the impacts of the changes. In the LGPS, this was done by giving certain members ‘underpin’ protection. Underpin protection meant that members built up pension in the reformed CARE scheme, but this was ‘underpinned’ by what they would have built up in the final pay scheme. In practice it meant that people who had underpin protection had the best of both the CARE scheme and the final pay scheme for a protected period.

These protections were successfully challenged in the Courts for discriminating against younger members, in the case known as ‘McCloud’ – click here for more information. As a result of the McCloud case, changes were made to the underpin so that there was no age requirement for the protection to apply. These changes were made retrospectively so that, for those who qualify, the underpin is treated as if it always applied.

On this page we set out how the underpin works for all LGPS members, whether you qualified originally or you only qualified after the McCloud remedy was put in place.

How do I know if I qualify for underpin protection?

You will have underpin protection if you meet the below criteria:

• You were in active membership of the LGPS or another public service pension scheme before 1 April 2012,
• You subsequently had active LGPS membership between 1 April 2014 and the earlier of 31 March 2022 and your 65^th birthday, and
• You did not have a break in active service of a public service pension scheme of more than five years between the two periods outlined above.

What period does underpin protection apply to?

If you qualify for the underpin and were 65 or under on 31 March 2022, your active membership between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022 will have underpin protection, subject to you not having a break in service of more than five years (see below).

If you qualify for the underpin and were 65 before 31 March 2022, your active membership between 1 April 2014 and the date of your 65^th birthday will have underpin protection, subject to you not having a break in service of more than five years (see below).

Underpin protection does not apply if, before the protected period, you had a break in active membership of the LGPS or another public service pension scheme of more than five years.

How does it work?

When you come to take your benefits (either as a retirement pension or in another way – e.g. through a transfer out), we will compare your CARE benefits for the protected period against what you would have had in the final pay scheme for that period. If the final pay benefits would have been higher, we will make an addition to your benefits covering the shortfall. This is automatic and you do not need to ask us to do this.

This means you will have the best of both for the protected period. Except in very rare circumstances relating to pensions for members who have divorced, your pension cannot go down due to the underpin. We will contact you if this applies. 

Before you retire, an estimate of the value of the underpin to you will be reflected in your annual benefit statement each year, but it is important to note this is just an estimate and it is not until we undertake the final comparison when you take your pension that any increase to your pension arising from the underpin becomes confirmed.