Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on reducing the backlog of veterans' pensions affected by the McCloud remedy, including expected timelines for cases to be resolved.

As of 3 July 2026, a total of 98,746 members across the active, deferred, and pensioner cohorts have been issued with their RSSs under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). There remains 37,890 members who are still awaiting issuance of their RSS. Of these, 12,123 are pensioner members who left service prior to 1 October 2023.

At this stage, I am unable to provide a specific completion date for all outstanding RSSs. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to keeping members informed and a further update on progress and timescales will be published on the Armed Forces Pensions page. The Armed Forces Pensions page on GOV.UK provides a delivery update and outlines the revised timeline, which can be found at the following link under 'Remediable Service Statement Delivery Update':

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#remediable-service-statement-delivery-update

As the delay breaches the regulatory deadline, the MOD has reported this matter to the Pensions Regulator and is keeping them informed of our efforts to address the issue. It is important to note that all public sector schemes are facing similar challenges, and this is not a problem exclusive to the AFPS or the MOD.