The Sutton Council Pension Fund has reported a breach to the Pensions Regulator after missing the statutory deadline for implementing the McCloud Remedy. The issue was discussed at the Pension Board meeting on 23 October 2025, where board members reviewed the Public reports pack.
The McCloud Remedy addresses age discrimination found in public sector pension schemes related to pension reforms implemented in 2014 and 2015. The fund did not meet the statutory implementation deadline of 31 August 2025, due to delays in receiving a functional software solution from Civica, a software provider. This is a nationwide issue affecting a large number of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, who are collectively pressing Civica to deliver the essential system upgrades. Other funds using the same software provider are also expected to breach the statutory deadline and will need to report this.
According to the Pension Administration Projects Update, a revised project plan has been established with a new target completion date of 30 June 2026. Immediate priorities include completing data matching and validation by the end of February 2026, installing and testing software patches from Civica as soon as they are available, and beginning bulk benefit recalculations in March 2026.
In the interim, manual processes are in place to ensure any member retiring or leaving the scheme has their benefits calculated correctly. A communications plan is also in place, and a letter will be issued to all 3,544 in-scope members in September 2025 to explain the delay and provide the revised timeline. In addition to the letter, progress updates will be provided on the Fund's website and in employer newsletters. Upon project completion, each member will receive further communications explaining the impact on their pension benefits, if any.
During a previous Pension Board meeting on 17 July 2025, members emphasised the importance of being open, honest, and transparent with the Pension Regulator. Officers stated that if a disclosure to the regulator is required this will be made early to ensure full transparency.
At the 23 October meeting, the Pension Board also received a Pension Administration Performance Update. One breach of law has been reported relating to the McCloud Remedy, which has also been reported to the Pension Regulator. The number of outstanding processes has seen a significant reduction, falling from 962 to 820 since the last report. The number of cases overdue by more than three months fell from 18 to 0 at the end of August.
