Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on plans to bring forward legislative proposals to support firefighters who joined the Firefighters Pension Scheme 1992 before the age of 20 who were required to continue paying pension contributions beyond the maximum entitlement before drawing their pension.

The Government has brought forward legislative amendments to the 1992 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme to address this issue in England, which came into force on 30 September 2016. These amendments ensure that a firefighter who accrues maximum pensionable service in the scheme will be entitled to a pension contributions holiday until they reach the age of 50.

The provision applies retrospectively to 1 December 2006 and affected firefighters may be entitled to a refund of some of their contributions. Fire and Rescue Authorities are expected to make the majority of those refund payments by the end of March 2017.

The Devolved Administrations have responsibility for firefighters’ pension schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.