Advice, guidance and news about teachers' pensions.
Advice and guidance about pensions including information on the latest pension updates (including the 2019 salary band contribution changes), pensions advice and key documents.
The government announced a public consultation seeking views on how to remove the discrimination caused by the transitional protections in July 2020. The NEU has now responded and favours the Deferred Choice Underpin option of the two options presented.
This is the NEU response to the Treasury consultation on rectifying the age discrimination outlined in the judges' and firefighters' cases.
Members will be able to choose between final salary and career average benefits for the 2015-22 period.
The NEU favours the deferred choice underpin rather than an immediate choice in 2022.
The key advantage of deferred choice is that the decision is made at retirement , so the decision is based on known facts rather than assumptions about the future.
The Government has published the proposed increases in teachers’ pensions with effect from 6 April 2020.
From 1 April 2020 the contribution bands for employee pension contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme are rising by 1.7 per cent. This is in line with the September 2019 increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
This increase only affects the contribution bands. The contribution rates remain the same. The increase applies to members in the Career Average section and the Final Salary sections of the scheme. The contribution structure is based on the teacher’s actual salary rather than the full-time equivalent salary.
The tiered contribution rates for the TPS from 1 April 2020 are as follows:
|
Annual Salary (1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020) |
Annual Salary (1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021) |
Member Contribution Rate (%) |
|
Up to £27,697 |
Up to £28,168 |
7.4 |
|
£27,698 - £37,284 |
£28,169 - ££37,918 |
8.6 |
|
£37,285 - £44,208 |
£37,919 - £44,960 |
9.6 |
|
£44,209 - £58,590 |
£44,961 - £59,587 |
10.2 |
|
£58,591 - £79,895 |
£59,588 - £81,254 |
11.3 |
|
£79,896+ |
£81,255+ |
11.7 |
The Government has confirmed that career average pension rights for members in teaching will be increased by 3.3 per cent in April 2020.
Members with deferred pensions will have their career average pension rights increased by 1.7 per cent in April 2020.
Most teachers are in the career average section of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Their pension is being built up at 1/57 of their pensionable earnings each year. These pension rights are then increased each year until retirement at CPI inflation + 1.6 per cent for teachers who stay in teaching, and at CPI inflation only for those who leave the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
The increase is based on the CPI figure from September 2019, which was 1.7 per cent.
Employer pension contributions are set to rise from 16.4 per cent to 23.6 per cent in September 2019. The Department for Education has been running a consultation on whether this increase should be funded by Government for the period September 2019 to April 2020 for certain sectors. The NEU's response, is arguing this should be done. Independent schools and the post-1992 universities are not within the scope of this consultation and will face serious pressures as a result.
Information about the final salary section of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), including how to find out if you are in this TPS section.
An overview of the Local Government Pension Scheme, introduced in 2014
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme will provide much of your retirement income so it is vital that you understand it.
Check your pension records - The NEU receives many reports of pension records being incorrect. The growing fragmentation of the school system means a growing number of small employers, and more changes of employer for teachers over their careers. These are perfect conditions for mistakes to be made.
Members should sign up with the Teachers’ Pension Scheme’s MyPensionOnline service and check your pension is correct.
Local Government Pension Scheme
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An overview of the Local Government Pension Scheme, introduced in 2014
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme will provide much of your retirement income so it is vital that you understand it. This guidance covers the career average section of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) in which most members are accruing pension.
Information about the final salary section of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), including how to find out if you are in this TPS section.
