Chapter 2 judicial pension scheme guidance
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-13)

If you’re a member or a legal personal representative of a member of a judicial public service pension scheme, check how the public service pensions remedy (known as McCloud) could affect you.

What a Chapter 2 scheme is

A Chapter 2 scheme is a public service pension scheme that is a:
- the Judicial Pension Scheme 2015
- the Northern Ireland Judicial Pension Scheme
- a scheme made under the Judicial Pension Act 1981
- a scheme made under the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993
- the Fee-Paid Judicial Pensions Scheme
The Judicial legacy scheme covers unregistered pension schemes, whereas the Judicial 2015 scheme covers registered pension schemes.

Who the remedy applies to

The remedy only applies if you have remediable service. This means you must meet all the following conditions:
- were aged under 55 on 1 April 2012
- a pensionable Judicial office
- a pensionable non-Judicial public office and later took Judicial office after 31 March 2012
- have service that takes place in the period between 1 April 2015 and up to 31 March 2022 (known as the remedy period)
- have no disqualifying gap in service (a period of 5 years or more) which started or ended between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2015
Legal personal representative of a deceased member

If you are a legal personal representative of a deceased member that the remedy applied to, the information in this guidance still applies to you.

How the remedy affects you

If you have not already received a remedy (known as an immediate detriment remedy), you are being offered an ‘options exercise’. This means you will need to make a choice of pension scheme membership that will apply retrospectively over the remedy period.

Once you make your choice, it cannot be changed. You will need to make a choice within 3 months of receiving details of your choice on an information statement from the relevant authority.

If you do not make a decision, your default option will be processed. Details of what this means for you is set out in your information statement and your default option will appear with an asterisk (*) throughout the statement.

If you had or were close to having an annual allowance tax charge

You may need to review and calculate your annual allowance position if:
- your pension input amount has changed as a result of the remedy
- you had or were close to having an annual allowance tax charge during the remedy period
Check if your annual allowance has been affected (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-in-your-annual-allowance-following-the-public-service-pensions-remedy). If it has, you will need to calculate your tax position and send it to HMRC (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculate-your-public-service-pension-adjustment) to correct it.

Impact on lifetime allowance tax charges

Although the lifetime allowance was abolished from 6 April 2024, you may have had a benefit crystallisation event (for example, if you have started to draw from a pension scheme) before 6th April 2023. If so, before you choose which scheme benefits you will have for the remedy period, your lifetime allowance tax charges may need updating.

You should check how your lifetime allowance is affected (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-how-your-lifetime-allowance-is-affected-by-the-public-service-pensions-remedy), as you may be due a refund of a previous charge, or you may be liable for a new or increased charge.

If there is an increased or new charge following your remedy choice, your pension scheme administrator will contact you and provide details which you will need to send to HMRC (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculate-your-public-service-pension-adjustment).

What information you’ll receive

Information statements

If you are eligible for an options exercise, your relevant authority will send you an information statement.

The information statement will give you details of your membership for both the Chapter 2 legacy and the Chapter 2 2015 schemes. This will help you compare the benefits.

Pension savings statement

Your pension input amount will change if, on 1 April 2012, you were:
- a taper-protected member
- an unprotected member, and as a result of the options exercise have chosen membership of the Chapter 2 legacy scheme
Read more information on taper-protected members and unprotected members in section ‘How members are affected’ on the How the public service pensions remedy affects your pension (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-the-public-service-pension-remedy-affects-your-pension) guidance.

You may have received pension savings statements during the tax years covered by the remedy (from 2015 to 2016 to 2021 to 2022). If so, your pension scheme administrator will issue you with revised statements if your pension input amount has changed.

You may not have received a pension savings statement in relation to the tax years covered by the remedy. However, your pension scheme administrator will issue you with a new statement if both of the following apply:
- you did not receive a pension savings statement during the tax years covered by the remedy
- your pension input amount increases over the annual allowance for one of those tax years
You can also ask for a statement from your pension scheme administrator. You would normally only do this under the following conditions:
- you were a member of other pension schemes during those years
- your total pension savings are likely to exceed your annual allowance
Benefit crystallisation event statement

Your pension scheme administrator will send you a new or revised benefit crystallisation event statement if both of the following apply:
- you received benefits from your pension scheme
- you are a taper-protected member, or an unprotected member who has made a legacy scheme election
Where you are a member of other pension schemes, you must send those pension schemes a copy of the statement when both of the following apply:
- you’ve been given a benefit crystallisation event statement
- you had a benefit crystallisation event in another pension scheme since receiving the statement
How voluntary contributions are affected

Added pension

You will need to make a decision where you made both:
- voluntary contributions in the Chapter 2 2015 scheme during the remedy period to buy added pension
- a Chapter 2 legacy scheme election
Added pension is not available in Chapter 2 legacy schemes.

You can either request compensation or regularisation.

Request compensation

You’ll receive compensation with interest on the value of your added pension contributions net of an amount representing tax relief.

If you choose this option, the rights once associated with your added pension contributions will extinguish.

Request regularisation

This means that you would continue to be treated as having been a member of the Chapter 2 2015 schemes in respect of added pension only.

No tax adjustments will be required for this option.

Effective pension age

You may have made both:
- effective pension age contributions into your Chapter 2 2015 scheme during the remedy period
- a Chapter 2 legacy scheme election
If so, you will receive compensation for the value of your contributions, net of an amount representing tax relief.

Third-party contributions

You may have made contributions during the remedy period into third-party provider schemes through either:
- the Chapter 2 2015 schemes
- the legacy pension options
The remedy will not affect these and does not require action, regardless of your choice. These include the:
- Judicial Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme
- Judicial Added Years Scheme
- Judicial Added Benefits Scheme
- Judicial Additional Survivors Pension Scheme
How transfers into your scheme are affected

Any transfers that were accepted into the Chapter 2 2015 scheme during the remedy period will not move to the Chapter 2 legacy scheme if you choose this scheme.

These transfers will be regularised in the Chapter 2 2015 scheme. This means that you would continue to be treated as having been a member of your Chapter 2 2015 schemes in respect of the transferred rights only. No tax adjustments will be required for this.

Your Chapter 2 2015 scheme will pay the benefits relating to the transfer.

If you want an agent to act on your behalf

You will need to give written permission to HMRC if you want an agent to send your updated information to HMRC. Read section ‘Tax agents guidance’ on the How the public service pensions remedy affects your pension (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-the-public-service-pension-remedy-affects-your-pension) page.

Your agent can check your tax position and send it to HMRC (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculate-your-public-service-pension-adjustment) on your behalf.