I assume (naively) that because it is clearly identified as money that has been "illegally" withheld, as opposed to a change of policy, that it would be taxable for the years it was supposed to have been paid. Likewise for the pension fund "jump" which would likely exceed the annual threshold, clearly it hasn't been accrued magically in one year - it was always there, just being withheld.

Obviously that would be the right and decent thing, so I think we can all assume the opposite will happen and watch HMRC tax it at the highest rate of interest possible....

AFPS05/ 15 versus 05

I’ve now got all the paperwork and a lump sum in under 21 days. I’ve been lucky.

I’ve also had a rough stab at which is best, and unless I’ve got something really wrong I’m going to be better off on a mix of pensions. Has anyone else had a fag packet go at the sums?

Yes, if you are going to 60 with AFPS15 then everyone should be better off with 15 than 05. My reasoning for that is that the final pension (not talking EDP here) is based on 1/47th on 15 across a career average (which is career average since 2015 for most retiring now) and 1/70th of your best 365 days’ pay in your last 3 years. Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different, so definitely do your sums carefully!

Has anyone tied the new calculator?
 

Is there anyone that has left service and tried the new calculator to try and understand what they’re owed?

Common Sense
 

I have. Let’s hope it’s just a beta version. I’d say it still needs work!

BV

Yep, as BV says, it needs a bit of work and for Reservists it is a retrograde step as it doesn’t seem to do RFPS05 anymore. However, you can adjust the dates a little if you left in the last year or so and still get a fairly good indicator of what you’re likely to get.

It doesn't work if you have already left as far as I can see. Glasgow wrote to me a few days ago and said that I would receive a letter detailing the amounts with/without the McCloud judgement in the coming months rather than via the calculator

It’s says at the very beginning it is a calculator for serving personnel…

From the AFPS:

As you are probably all aware, the enhanced Armed Forces Pension Calculator is now live, and will provide Serving Personnel with an illustration of their pension entitlement, and for those who are in-scope for the AFPS 15 Remedy, a side-by-side comparison of their reformed (AFPS 15) and legacy scheme benefits.

Many of our Veteran members are asking the team if the new version of the calculator will be available for those who already left. Unfortunately, the answer is no, it only operates for serving personnel (as per the previous version of the calculator).

Veterans will need to wait for their Remediable Service Statement (RSS) which will be issued within 18 months from 1 October 2023 – so by 1 April 2025

The initial RSS will not facilitate an election choice unless/until your deferred benefits are due to come into payment. Rather this RSS will simply compare the pension benefits for the remedy period for information purposes only. Thereafter, members with deferred benefits can request one RSS per year if they wish until such time as their pension benefits are payable, at which point they will be requested to make their remedy choice.

Further to my post on the other thread - finally got a vaguely sensible answer out of the new calculator, but only after I selected ‘No’ to the AVCs question. So at least the result should undershoot what I’m actually owed.

That said it’s still a surprising result in that my lump sum is greater if I revert to the 75 Scheme and my annual pension is greater if I stay as I am on the scheme that kicked in in Apr 15. Slightly surprised as I promoted in 2017 so was hoping that promotion under 75 Scheme terms might be a bit of a boost.

The utter confusion that is MOD pensions continues!

The AFPS 15 accrual rate is better than that of AFPS 05 but you need to factor in that AFPS 05 has an automatic lump sum whereas AFPS 15 does not. However, if you surrender pension, you can generate a bigger lump sum than that of AFPS 05.

Happy McCloud Day!

Hoping the letters arrive nearer today than an unreasonable 18 months from now.

Sadly I think we all know what is actually going to happen. Roll on March 2025!

RSS
 

Has anyone in receipt of their pension received their RSS yet?

I'm in close Comms with around 10 people waiting for one and it's silence all around so far. I'd expect the above - they'll all drop on last day of mar 25 to kick the can as far as possible!

Not in receipt of my pension yet. I've had mine, leave within the next 30 days.

Mmmmm - Looking at the MoD published booklet 'Your 2015 Pension Remedy Explained' booklet (which is surprisingly good), I note the timescales going back to July 2019, when the Govt committed to take steps to remedy the pension discrimination saga. Through much gnashing of teeth and allegedly significant legal bureaucracy, MoD then managed to delay implementation until October 2023 with a defensive line that it could take until April 2025 before everyone in the bracket gets their RSS statement! Cynically, I suspect it will probably be several months after that before corrected pension amounts are finally settled. The aforementioned booklet also states that those already in receipt of a military pension will be prioritised!!

In my particular case, having extended well beyond the age of 60 (still in a flying job on a FL Sqn) and now recently retired, I had no option other than staying on AFPS75 terms which meant all those years from the age of 55 upwards counted for absolutely nothing towards my final pension. Having topped out on the highest level for PAS several years ago, the McCLoud judgement is a fantastic deal for me to the tune of approx. £10k per year and so I ask myself - what have MoD pension staffs been doing since July 2019? I remember one DiN pushed out by some high level female civil servant about 18 months ago that made a big point of the fact that nothing needed to be done before Oct 23. The amount of adverse feedback to her comments on ModNet nearly crashed the system and after responding to the first 2 comments in a very defensive manner, that was the end of her replies.

In response to some of the comments above though, I know of many, many retired individuals who are waiting for their RSS and yet I do not know of a single person who has heard a sniff as yet. I'm sure a MoD spokesperson would throw out wankword statements about dedicated teams working around the clock, at pace, deeply committed etc., but in reality I suspect it's been dumped on an overworked junior as a secondary duty (great for Billy Bobs career profile etc.) I also wouldn't be surprised if Billy Bob suddenly identified as a hedgehog and therefore needed to hibernate from the office for 6 months - fully supported by MoD's latest LGBTQ+* policy diktat.

Sadly I suspect pba target will probably be proved correct with his March 25 prediction but even that may prove optimistic once the excuses start flowing like 'overwhelmed and understaffed blah'. As ever, watch this space.

Hmmmmmm, largely agree with all the recent posters that this will take ages. Currently in reciept of a mix of 75/15.....I also wonder how they will balance the acoount so to speak...what if I choose an option that reduces income and increases lump sum after already having recieved the income for instance, surely the longer this takes the more complex the offer becomes?

I looked at a colleague who is due to leave RSS and it wasn't terribly clear either!

oh dear, really?

the problem was the fact that there were more than just the MoD affected, and Co-ordinating multiple pension schemes took a while.

Alfred, you fall flat on your face again.
Since October 1st there has been NO co-ordinating with any other scheme.
From October 1st guess what’s been happening. Were you the real ‘Pike’?