Queries relating to Police Pension remedy: FOI release

Information requested

1. As of 9 April 2025 how many RSS have been issued since the legislative deadline of 31 March 2025?

2. If that number what is the breakdown of fully protected, ill health retirals, tapered and not protected?

3. What correspondence has been received from the Pension Regulator since you reported your expected breach of the deadline?

4. What is the budget set aside for the payments of the remaining remedy pensioners?

Response

1. 160 Remediable Service Statements (RSS) were issued between the legislative deadline of 31 March 2025 and 09 April 2025.

2. 160 protected RSS were issued between the legislative deadline of 31 March 2025 and 09 April 2025.

3. There has been no regulatory breach in relation to the statutory deadline for the provision of remediable service statements to members of the Police scheme. The requirements for Remediable Service Statements are set out in Section 29 to the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022. Broadly, this requires that statements should be sent by 1 April 2025, described as “the relevant date”. However, Section 29(10(b) permits the scheme manager a discretion to provide remediable service statements at a later date where it considers it is reasonable to do so in the circumstances of any member or class of member.

With the agreement of the Pensions Regulator, SPPA has applied this discretion for the four devolved schemes under its management. The revised dates applied by SPPA in exercising of this discretion are set out on our website at the following link: 

2025-04_Police_Circular_McCloud_Remedy_administration_–_Remediable_Service_Statements.pdf

If the statements are not issued to members by the new target, then SPPA will consider the materiality of that breach and our requirement to report it to the Pensions Regulator.

4. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) does not have the information you have requested. The SPPA Chief Executive Officer is not the Accountable Officer for the Police Pension Scheme, rather SPPA administers pensions on behalf of The Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Therefore SPA are the budget holders for all Remedy payments relating to the Police Pension Scheme. Accordingly, the FOI request should be re-directed to The Scottish Police Authority: https://www.spa.police.uk/contact-us/ 

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