We are finalising the process of calculating how pensioner members will be affected by GMPe.
If you have already received a letter from us (earlier this year or in late 2023), you will receive a further letter from us in the next few months. These impact letters will confirm any changes that may need to be made to your pension to ensure that your pension is equal to that of a member of the opposite sex.
Why is it taking so long to make these changes?
We understand that it has been some time since you received your notification about these changes. We have been working hard to understand the impact of the changes with regards to the High Court ruling in 2018.
Unfortunately, the ruling did not provide guidance as to how to practically make the required changes and equalise benefits for members. Since 2018 the pensions industry (which has included Pension Schemes such as the RMSPS, The Pensions Regulator, as well as Government bodies such as HMRC) have been working together to address these changes fairly and consistently. In addition, other areas relating income tax, interest application to arrears payments and how schemes should manage spouse or dependant members have also required to be addressed adding to the complexity of the changes.
In addition, there were also a number of other GMP related projects which needed to be completed before equalisation took place; information on GMP correction (GMPc) and GMP rectification (GMPr) can be found in our FAQs. This was to ensure that our final calculations were correct.
As GMPe is an ongoing process, schemes will be required to continuously check on the GMP part of members’ pensions going forward to ensure that they remain equal. Therefore, we have also had to consider how to update records for pensioners and how to store the equalised comparison of benefits for each year after age 60, which is the part of the process we are working through now.
The financial impact of changes to your pension
Changes to your pension, large or small, can be a worry and we understand that the extended period waiting to find out the impact to your benefits may have added to this. However, please be assured that no member will be asked to pay back any overpayment made by the RMSPS in respect of GMP at any time.
It is also likely, that for most members, changes to benefits will be minimal.
Should you need support relating to financial concerns we have provided a list of organisations and schemes that might be able to help. You can find this information on our ‘Contact us and financial support’ page.
What happens next?
Once you have received your impact letter and any changes are applied to the GMP part of your pension, we will continue to review this regularly to ensure that it remains at least equal to a member of the opposite sex. This review will take place annually at the same time as the annual pension increase.
We will write to you to let you know if a further change is required to your pension in the future.
Stay informed
If you have any questions, then please visit our FAQs page here. Further news articles will follow in 2024 so visit this page regularly to keep up to date.