Were you employed as a retained (On-Call) firefighter between 7 April 2000 and 5 April 2006?
At the time, you may have been unable to join the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 1992. However, you may now be eligible to join a modified scheme for retained (On-Call) firefighters or pay more for eligible service.
If you have served in Humberside and believe you meet the criteria, please get in touch with our Pensions team by email pensions2@humbersidefire.gov.uk
Further information about the settlement
The original legal settlement under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 only allowed certain retained (On-Call) firefighters with service between 1 July 2000 and 5 April 2006 to become members of the pension scheme. Eligible firefighters were asked whether they wanted to join this scheme in an options exercise which took place in 2014-2015. Elections to join had to be received by 30 September 2015. This was the ‘first options exercise’.
More recently, this judgment was challenged at the European Court of Justice in relation to fee-paid judges. The Court ruled in that case that service going back to the start of employment could be considered. The government accepted that the same principles apply to certain retained (On-Call) firefighters, whether they have made a legal claim or not.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was agreed by the government, representative bodies, and Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) on 9 March 2022.
What does this mean?
A second options exercise will take place to allow eligible retained (On-Call) firefighters to buy pension service as a special member of the FPS 2006, backdated to the start date of their employment.
How do I know if I'm eligible?
Membership will be open to all such eligible individuals, this includes:
- Current firefighters
- Firefighters who have left the Service
- Firefighters who have left the Service and are in receipt of a pension, and;
- Firefighters who have left the Service and are in receipt of ill health retirement benefits
If you are eligible, you do not need to have made a legal claim to be offered backdated access to the FPS 2006.
What will I be entitled to?
Eligible retained (On-Call) firefighters will be able to buy pension service as a special member for some or all their employment between 7 April 2000 and 5 April 2006, as well as any continuous employment up to 7 April 2000 and/ or any continuous employment from 5 April 2006.
A retained (On-Call) firefighter transferring from one fire rescue service to another without a break in service will be treated as having continuous employment with the second fire rescue service.
When will I be contacted about my options?
The Government laid legislation on 1 October 2023 to enable the second options exercise to begin. The exercise will last for a period of 18 months. The option to join the scheme will lapse on 31 March 2025 if an election has not been made.
Letters requesting expressions of interest have been sent to individuals identified as being in scope for the exercise. If you have received a letter, we ask that you return your expression of interest without delay due to the timescales involved. If you do not wish to join the scheme, please return your expression of interest to confirm this so that we can record your decision.
If you have not received a letter and you think you should have, please complete an expression of interest form, and return it to pensions@humbersidefire.gov.uk If you know of other on-call firefighters who you think may be eligible, please encourage them to contact us.