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28 October 2025

Pensions Newsletter Issue 7

This is our seventh newsletter and we hope you find this information of use. It summarises progress in all areas and we realise some of this may not apply to your specific circumstances. We will continue to keep you updated.

First of all, it is worth recognising that we acknowledge the continued frustration regarding application and progression of the two remedies. That being said, our newly formed Pension Team have settled in really well. They have been able to increase our capability to produce appropriate data for calculations to be made and we have also had a large number of staff retire this year which have all been processed effectively. 

Our previous newsletter explained that progress had been made for some with the production of Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) and Remedial Service Statements (RSS) but unfortunately not for all. 

We have maintained the position that we are committed that all members of the Firefighter Pension Scheme receive their relevant statement at the earliest possible opportunity. Senior Leaders in ESFRS have held several meetings with Senior Leaders of West Yorkshire Pension Fund to make our position clear, and to explore all options to progress the issuing of  statements for all members whether active or retired. 

Whilst we are not in a position to state we have achieved this, we feel there has been significant progress in the position for Active Members ABS-RSS and Retired members Immediate Choice – RSS. Whilst there has been little progress with the part time workers remedy, we have been working alongside the age discrimination remedy to ensure we are able to make progress very soon.

Active Members

Since ‘Newsletter 6’:

• 2023-24 ABS-RSS have been produced for many active members/individuals still in Service. 
• The latest report from WYPF states that 95.8% of the 2024/25 statements for in-scope active members have now been produced. 
• There was a short delay for the 2025 but statements for 91.8% of our in-scope active members have been produced. 

During a recent client meeting, it was suggested that a large proportion of the out of scope are Deferred Benefit Annual Benefit Statements – DBS-ABS - and that it is planned for these to be produced over the next month or two.

Retired Members

Our last newsletter explained that we were disappointed with the position that WYPF had taken with regards to issuing retired members Immediate Choice RSS (IC-RSS). 

We also set out the steps we had taken and were planning to take in order to improve the position and ensure that statements are issued at the earliest opportunity. We have progressed a number of these opportunities and continue to work on them to ensure we are in the best position possible. 

Capacity Increase 

We have explored further any possible options available which might increase capacity to produce the calculations. In addition to seeking assistance from other pension administrators, this includes engaging with an Actuary service to explore if it is possible for them to carry out the work. 

Whilst theoretically it appears possible at this stage, there is further work required to align software capability, ensure data protection governance is not compromised and evaluate cost. It is something we have shared with WYPF as an option and opportunity, and they assure us they are also exploring the same options. We are committed to working through this opportunity as a serious option to increase capacity if needed. 

Senior Team Escalation 

The most positive progress has come through members of our Senior Leadership Team meeting with the WYPF Senior Leaders to ensure that our retired members position and  concerns and personal impacts are represented at the highest level. 

In preparation for these meetings, we have taken guidance from our legal team to ensure the risks we feel are present are being considered as seriously by WYPF as they are by us. 

We feel we have made progress by reaching an agreement of resources and clarity over the timeline to produce statements for members in this position. 

There has been some positive progress regarding these cases but they are different dependent on individual circumstance. If you wish to be updated on your personal case, please make contact with Lucy Allen 07876 133671 or Doug Marshall 07557 633907. 

We see this as a really positive step forward for members in this position. Our request for WYPF was to be able to communicate with individual members to explain their specific situation. 

Unfortunately, this is not possible because individuals’ positions are so specific. They have committed to send out a more generic communication which covers further detail to the more frequent ‘cohorts’ of members that are in similar positions setting expectations.

WYPF Formal Position IC-RSS

We are also in receipt of the formal communication that WYPF have shared with all services. This reads: 

IC-RSS 

• Working through cases as quickly as we can (approx. 90 now calculated) 

• Still working on developing a bulk calculation 

• We are investigating using third-party resource via an Actuary, currently this is looking very expensive and with a lot of data management by WYPF. Further updates on this to follow. 

• Will be sending an updated bulk communication to all IC-RSS members in early to mid-November. 

• Where we receive a completed IC-RSS decision we are processing the lump sum in a few days and updating the revised pension on the next available payroll (depending on timing this can fall onto the next month’s payroll due to processing cut-off times) 

• Without a bulk calculation we will be working through cases into 2026. If a bulk calculation becomes possible that will bring completion date forwards. 

This website has been updated with latest position www.wypf.org.uk/fps-members/fps-knowledge-hub/sargeant-remedy/

Part Time Workers

Whilst it may appear that there has been little movement in this area, the newly formed pensions team have made considerable progress in preparation for the point when we can move to next steps. 

This is explained below in a recently received formal service update from WYPF regarding part time worker’s remedy. 

It reads: 

Matthews ‘2’ Remedy – service update from WYPF 

In 2022, following further legal challenges, the Government accepted that retained firefighters should be entitled to claim service going back to the beginning of their employment. This means a second ‘Matthews’ options exercise was needed to allow eligible retained firefighters to buy pension service as a special member of the FPS 2006, backdated to the start date of their employment. FRAs have been collecting information and in some cases payments from members to buy the pensionable service. This information has then been sent on to us as the scheme administrator. Regrettably we’ve not been able to process the bulk of claims up to now. 

We’re very sorry for that delay, and also for not keeping you up-to-date and informed. Unfortunately, most of the processing work involves manual calculations due to our software not being able to cater for this project. This exercise is also complex in nature and in some cases overlaps with the wider Sargeant Remedy project, adding to the complexity of the task. 

This is not an excuse for our failure to provide an acceptable service, but it is one of the reasons for the delay. We have also had to balance a number of competing projects and system incompatibilities against ongoing ‘business as usual’ work to make sure that people retiring now receive a pension and that no member is without an income upon retirement. 

Processing cases 

To start processing cases and working through the backlog of claims as quickly as possible, we have created a special project team and recruited additional skilled resource so that experienced administrators can be used for this project. Unfortunately, it has taken longer to put this project team together than we hoped. If you have sent in a claim or payment to your FRA, please be assured we have received that from them, and we are starting to work through the backlog of claims. 

Regrettably we were not able to acknowledge receipt of cases as we received them, but from November we will be writing to members to acknowledge receipt of every new case. Please be aware we will not be going through the backlog to acknowledge older cases, but we will contact members as we start processing their case. We will be working through cases as quickly as we can. 

As we are at the start of this project we do not know exactly how long it will take to work through the backlog of cases and catch-up, but if you could bear with us until we address your case that would be greatly appreciated. 

Keeping you up to date 

We will now keep you updated on our progress through the project, and we have updated our website with a page where you can keep up to date. 

You can see this on www.wypf.org.uk/matthews

We will also provide your FRA with periodical updates like this that they can share with you. We plan to provide more information about timescales in our next communication once the project team is up to speed. We sincerely apologise for the delay in processing cases and communicating with you. 

We hope this update provides you with the information you need.

ESFRS update on Part Time Workers

We have identified a total of 257 members in scope. This figure has altered slightly from previous figures as a result of a scrutiny exercise over eligibility due to some members previously included not now being in scope. We have previously sent out letters regarding expression of interests to those in scope. 

We have also employed a tracing agent to identify and track as many members as possible who are no longer employees and are in scope. This has enabled us to identify a group who are in scope but have possibly not been sent an initial letter and expression of wish form to their TRACED address (49 members). 

We have categorised all members that have returned their expression of interest form and are in scope. We have developed a process to ensure we are able to make all the data inputs required for the calculation (however, we do not hold all inputs required, e.g. income data).

ESFRS work in progress for part time workers

We continue to identify additional members who may be in scope who were not included in the initial scoping exercise in December 2023. We will be shortly writing to members who have returned their expression of interest form and are in scope with next steps. 

This will include seeking confirmation of members service dates, ranks and income data. We will also be asking some further questions relating to the Matthews first options exercise, as we require more specific information to be able to process the calculations. 

We will soon be writing to members who have been identified through the tracing exercise with an initial letter, expression of wish form and follow up letter requesting income data.