Commenting on the Public Service Pension Schemes Consultation Response Guidance, Catherine McFadyen, Hymans Robertson, says:

“We are pleased to see that the Government has heeded the comments of respondents, including ourselves, who called for members to be allowed to make a benefit choice at retirement (the Deferred Choice Underpin) rather than be forced to make an immediate election based on assumptions (the Immediate Choice Underpin). The deferred choice approach provides greater security for members and avoids the administrative challenge of carrying out an immediate options exercise for 3 million members. It would be a huge challenge to implement these changes alongside revisiting any benefits changes as a result of the 2016 cost control valuations and we would urge Treasury to complete the cost management process as soon as possible.“