The cost of remedying the Goodwin discrimination case brought against the Teachers’ Pension Scheme will be significant
The government’s remedy to the Goodwin discrimination case brought against the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) will cost an estimated £425m by the 2026/27 fiscal year, Spring Statement documents reveal.
HM Treasury policy costings - released alongside the Spring Statement today (23 March) - detailed the cost of remedying sexual orientation discrimination in the TPS and other affected public sector schemes.
The Goodwin case concluded in June 2020 that a female member in an opposite sex marriage is treated less favourably than a female in a same sex marriage or civil partnership - finding that this treatment amounts to direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
It said that where schemes contain provisions deemed discriminatory, those provisions must be disapplied as being contrary to the non-discrimination rule set out in section 61 of the Equality Act 2010.
The government's remedy to the case will see the government pay out equal survivor benefits in the future and backdating them to 5 December 2005.
It said this will result in some one-off survivor pension payments and higher payments going forward.
The Treasury added that some public service pension scheme members may have made additional pension contributions to provide higher survivor benefits to their spouse, which will be refunded.
Costings by the Government Actuaries Department (GAD), based on data provided by TPS administrator Capita, shows the impact of this remedy will be £60m in the 2021/22 year, £140m in the 2022/23, £75m in 2023/24 and £50m in each of the subsequent three financial years.
HM Treasury noted the data provided by Capita is based on outturn for the TPS thus far - adding that the costing was therefore "uncertain" and sensitive to future outturn data.
