Gary Delderfield
Gary Delderfield is a partner in Eversheds Sutherland's Human Resources Practice Group. He specialises in pensions and also heads our Public Sector Pensions Group.
He advises trustees, employers and providers on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious pension issues. Gary is also a nationally recognised expert in the area of public sector pensions law advising clients on issues across local government, central government, education, health and voluntary sectors.
His recent experience includes setting up a new final salary pension scheme, advising on a section 75 withdrawal arrangement, advising the trustees of a final salary pension scheme on the winding up of the scheme and advising a private contractor on the pension aspects of a large scale TUPE staff transfers from the public sector.
Gary is a regular speaker on pension issues and speaks on the Local Government Employers' annual 'Fundamentals' trustee training course. He has also written widely on pension issues for publications such as Pensions Week, Pensions Management, Pension Lawyer, Tolleys Pensions Law, Legal Week and PAYadvice (magazine of the Institute of Payroll Professionals).
Practice Areas
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 1998
Membership
- Midlands APL regional committee, The Association of Pension Lawyers
8 Contributions by Gary Delderfield
PRACTICE NOTES
Legacy LGPS (England and Wales, 2008–2014): final salary benefits, eligibility, contributions, governance, employer discretions, death benefits, GMP indexation and McCloud underpin protections
FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT :
Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 is set to raise the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, excluding members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes. This change takes effect on the stated date and will not apply to specified uniformed services. The Act will also permit members of registered pension schemes to access benefits before 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they either already held an 'unqualified right' to take benefits or were undertaking a substantive transfer to a scheme that, on or before 4 November 2021, offered an unqualified right to a protected pension age below 57. To rely on this new 2028 protection, the scheme’s rules must, as at 11 February 2021, have contained an unqualified right to draw scheme benefits before age 57. For additional detail, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
Legacy NHS Pension Scheme (England and Wales): 1995/2008 Sections—legal framework, benefits, contributions, retirement flexibilities and McCloud remedy
This Practice Note considers the National Health Service Pension Scheme (NHSPS) as it existed before the amendments taking effect on 1 April 2015.
What is the National Health Service Pension Scheme?
The NHSPS is an unfunded public service occupational pension arrangement providing retirement benefits to health service employees on a salary-related, or defined benefit (DB), basis.
Since 1 April 2015, there have been two distinct NHSPS schemes:
the reformed NHSPS (often called in NHS publications the ‘2015 Scheme’), established under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (PSPA 2013) on 1 April 2015 as a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme. New members from 1 April 2015 have joined this arrangement. For further details, see Practice Note: The reformed National Health Service Pension Scheme
the legacy NHSPS (often described in NHS publications as the ‘1995/2008 Scheme’), comprising two separate final salary sections—the 1995 Section and the 2008 Section—which are addressed in this Practice Note
Note that separate schemes operate in Scotland and Northern Ireland and are not covered by this Practice Note...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
Legacy Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS): sections, alpha transition and McCloud remedy; eligibility, employer participation, governance, contributions, benefits, GMP indexation and equalisation, statutory framework and funding
What is the PCSPS?
Until 30 September 2002, the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) was the only pension option for the civil service. From 1 October 2002, four distinct sections were introduced within the PCSPS: Classic (the 1972 Section), Classic Plus (a blend of Classic and Premium), Premium (the 2002 Section) and Nuvos (the 2007 Section). The first three operate on a final salary basis, whereas Nuvos is a career-average section. For further details on how these sections were established, see below.
Subsequently, on 1 April 2015, a new arrangement, the Civil Service Pension scheme (CSP) alpha, was created to provide benefits on a career average basis. When alpha was brought in, the government acted to close the PCSPS to future accrual, subject to:
the retention of a final salary link in the PCSPS for active members, meaning benefits earned in the PCSPS are calculated using final salary at the point of leaving the civil service rather than when active PCSPS membership ended...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
Legacy Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales): statutory framework, final salary benefits, contributions, governance, eligibility and the McCloud remedy
What is the Teachers’ Pension Scheme?
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory public service pension scheme for members of the teaching profession in England and Wales. Since 1 April 2015, the TPS has consisted of two distinct schemes:
the reformed TPS (often described in TPS literature as the ‘2015 Scheme’), introduced on 1 April 2015 under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (PSPA 2013) as a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme for those joining on or after 1 April 2015. For further information, see Practice Note: The reformed Teachers' Pension Scheme
the legacy TPS, set up under the Superannuation Act 1972 (SA 1972) as a final salary scheme for members who joined before 1 April 2015. This scheme is the subject of this Practice Note
Be aware there are separate schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are not covered by this Practice Note...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
LGPS admission agreements in England and Wales: employer categories, eligibility, bonds/guarantees, risk-sharing, exit credits and 2025 Fair Deal 'deemed employer' reforms
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
On 13 October 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) opened a consultation on proposed reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales. A central strand is a substantial reset of Fair Deal protections, bringing the scheme into line with the 2013 Fair Deal guidance and phasing out admission body agreements and the use of ‘broadly comparable’ schemes for future outsourcing, other than in limited, exceptional cases. In their place, a new default ‘deemed employer’ approach would mean staff compulsorily moved under TUPE keep unbroken LGPS membership, with the original Fair Deal employer retaining pension responsibility rather than relying on admission bodies. These safeguards would carry through re-tenders and later transfers, preserving access for ‘protected transferees’ and, at the employer’s option, extending to new starters on the contract. Draft regulations to deliver these Fair Deal measures accompanied the consultation, underlining the government’s plan to reinforce long-term pension security for outsourced local government employees. For further information, see Practice Note: Local government outsourcing—the pension issues—Prospective replacement of the Best Value Direction with Fair Deal 2013 below and LNB News 14/10/2025 8...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
LGPS in England and Wales: framework, governance, funding, investment pooling, employer participation, contributions and benefits—current law and forthcoming reforms
FORTHCOMING CHANGE 1 :
On 1 September 2022, the DLUHC opened a consultation proposing new duties for the LGPS to oversee and disclose climate-related risks, including the carbon emissions tied to their investments. The LGPS is the UK’s largest public sector pension scheme, covering 6.2 million members and holding £342bn in assets worldwide.
Under the government’s plans, administering authorities would be required to:
Calculate their carbon footprint;
Assess how climate change could influence pension-related assets and liabilities; and
Report each year on the extent to which assets align with the 2015 Paris Accords, the international climate treaty adopted by much of the world.
This seeks to enhance the management of climate-related financial risk and would bring the LGPS into line with requirements already in force for private pension schemes. The proposals are intended to replicate the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) measures that already apply to the largest private occupational pension schemes and master trusts. The consultation closed in November 2022, and the DLUHC has confirmed that implementation of the consulted proposals will be deferred until at least 2024/25. For further information, see News...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
Local authority outsourcing pensions: Best Value Direction, TUPE, and the Fair Deal 2013 LGPS deemed employer reforms (England and Wales)
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
On 13 October 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) opened a consultation on enhancements to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales. Among other measures, it sets out a reset of Fair Deal protections, bringing the scheme into line with the 2013 Fair Deal guidance and phasing out the use of ‘broadly comparable’ pension schemes for future outsourcing, except in limited exceptional cases. Rather than relying on admission bodies, a new default ‘deemed employer’ approach would allow all staff compulsorily moved under TUPE to keep uninterrupted LGPS membership, with the original Fair Deal employer remaining accountable for pensions. These safeguards would roll forward through re-tenders and later transfers, protecting access for ‘protected transferees’ and, where the employer chooses, for new starters on the contract. For members currently in broadly comparable arrangements, the plans anticipate bulk transfers into the LGPS that protect built-up final-salary rights, with future service building up on a CARE basis. Draft regulations giving effect to these Fair Deal reforms accompanied the consultation, indicating the government’s aim to bolster long-term pension security for outsourced local government staff...
Pensions
PRACTICE NOTES
UK central government outsourcing pensions: when the old Fair Deal still applies, interaction with Fair Deal 2013, TUPE, broadly comparable schemes, bulk transfers, re-tenders and enforcement
TUPE and pensions
When a public service moves from central government to a contractor in the private sector, particular safeguards typically apply to the pension entitlements of staff who transfer. Those safeguards were first set out in Annex A to HM Treasury’s guidance ‘Staff Transfers From Central Government: A Fair Deal for Staff Pensions’ (the old Fair Deal). The old Fair Deal extended protections beyond the minimum required under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), SI 2006/246, the Pensions Act 2004, ss 257–258, and the Transfer of Employment (Pension Protection) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/649. For added detail on TUPE, see TUPE—what pension benefits should the transferee provide? and TUPE and Beckmann—the pensions exception.
Old Fair Deal—interaction with Fair Deal 2013 and when it applies
The old Fair Deal was published in June 1999 and applies solely to central government departments and agencies. It is guidance rather than law, and carries no binding legal force. It deals with scenarios involving the transfer of employees as part of a business transfer, and is therefore chiefly focused on moves between government and the private sector...
Pensions
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