The controversial changes that were introduced into the Local Government Pension Scheme on 1 April this year have been withdrawn retrospectively.

The April changes increased the earliest retirement age from 50 to 55 and set the normal retirement age for all local government employees at 65 and were the subject of intense objection.

Local government trade unions organised ballots for strike action against the changes and many Local Government Pension Scheme administrators, like WYPF, spoke out against the changes.

Even before the changes were introduced in April the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, announced that he was going to look again at the changes.

In July the Deputy Prime Minister acted to end the controversy by re-setting the pension scheme rules to how they were on 31 March 2005.

Anyone who has left the scheme since 1 April 2005, and has been caught by the short-lived changes, will not now be affected.