BDA says age discrimination remedy is needed for NHS pensions

01 July 2019

The British Dental Association (BDA) has welcomed the Supreme Court ruling that the government has no basis to challenge earlier legal rulings that past pension reforms were age discriminatory. This ruling followed lengthy legal claims brought by firefighters and judges. 

The defined benefit pension schemes for judges and firefighters closed in March 2015, and these people were transferred into a replacement scheme. Transitional provisions were put in place, which meant that older workers remained in their existing pension arrangements, whilst younger workers were forced into the new pension schemes, with higher retirement ages.

The Court of Appeal said in December that this approach discriminated against members on the grounds of age in relation to changes to their pension.

The BDA has previously contacted the Department of Health and Social Care outlining our view that identical reforms in the NHS were discriminatory and in need of remedy. 

Paul Blaylock, chair of the British Dental Association’s Pensions Committee, said, “This is an important verdict for all public sector workers. We have been clear with Government that we expect a fair and consistent solution to be applied across all public service pensions. We look forward to working with them to achieve this.”