Pensions (Teachers: England & Wales)

If you would like Voice to contact Teachers’ Pensions on your behalf regarding any pension issue, it is a requirement that your written authority is given. It would therefore be helpful if you could complete and return to Sheila Barnes at Voice the attached Authority Form (Word)

Changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, England & Wales

Information on Pension Overpayments (December 2008)

Topping up your Teachers’ Pension (2007)

Reminder: Protecting Normal Pension Age 60 – transition period

Changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, England & Wales (2007):

DVD - What do you want to do when you leave school?

It’s a question we ask children thousands of times, but how much have you thought about what you want to do when you leave school? More importantly, do you know whether your pension will be enough to let you lead the life you want when you stop teaching?

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is changing from 1 January 2007. The revised scheme gives teachers and lecturers greater choice over saving and planning for retirement, as well as giving employers greater flexibility. For this reason, it is vitally important that all teachers, lecturers and employers alike understand the changes.

The Department for Education and Skills, in conjunction with Prudential, has developed a short DVD for teachers and lecturers, explaining the revised scheme and bringing to life the main changes in a straightforward and informative way. All schools and colleges throughout England and Wales should receive a copy of the DVD during the week commencing 9^th October.

Your Headteacher, Principal or Vice-Chancellor should arrange an opportunity for you and your colleagues to watch the DVD, perhaps in a staff meeting or during an inset day. Why not ask them when they’re planning to show it?

If you find it useful and would like to watch it in your own time, feel free to make a copy of the disc yourself, as there are no copyright restrictions. This will require the appropriate DVD copying software and a blank DVD (not a CD-RW). The DVD also contains useful literature and information about the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Teachers’ AVC. Just put it in a computer to view and download the files you want.

Taking just a few minutes now to watch the DVD may help you to make a more informed decision about what you want to do when you leave school.

For more information about the Teachers’ Pension Scheme visit www.teacherspensions.co.uk or call 0845 606 6166. For more information about the Teachers’ AVC call Prudential on 0845 0700 007 or visit www.pru.co.uk/teachers.

The above has been produced by the Department for Education & Skills, (DfES) and we urge you to watch this DVD. It will give you an outline of the changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme commencing January 2007. If you cannot obtain a copy please contact Janine Sansom at: janinesanson@voicetheunion.org.uk

Below is a summary of agreed package of reforms and improvements to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

New entrants from 1 January 2007

Normal Pension Age (NPA) of 65;
Minimum Retirement Age of 55, except on grounds of ill-health;
Pension based on 1/60 of salary for each year of pensionable service with the flexible option to take up to 25% of ‘fund value’ after commutation as a tax free lump sum by surrendering £1 of annual pension for £12 of lump sum.
Benefits payable to nominated dependent partners (opposite-sex and same-sex);
Spouses’, surviving civil partners and nominated dependent partners’ pensions paid for life;
Revised ill-health retirement package – tiered approach with a higher level of benefits for total incapacity and lower level of benefits for partial incapacity;
The better of the last year’s salary or the ‘re-valued (in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI)) average of the best three consecutive years salary in the last ten years of service’ to be used for calculating benefits at retirement;
A facility to purchase up to £5,000 of added annual pension;
A death grant of 3 times salary;
Phased retirement arrangements that would enable TPS members under defined circumstances to continue working as a teacher within the TPS while drawing down some or all of their accrued pension benefits; and
Actuarial enhancement for those who continue to work beyond NPA of 65 without accessing their pension benefits.

For existing members, NPA of 60 will be retained and the current arrangements will be modified and improved in the following ways:

Minimum Retirement Age of 55 by 2010 except on grounds of ill health;
Benefits payable to nominated dependent partners (opposite-sex and same-sex);
Spouses’, surviving civil partners and nominated dependent partners’ pensions paid for life;
The better of the last year’s salary or the ‘re-valued (in line with RPI) average of the best three consecutive years salary in the last ten years of service’ to be used for calculating benefits at retirement;
Revised ill-health retirement package – tiered approach with a higher level of benefits for total incapacity and lower level of benefits for partial incapacity;
More scope to take a higher tax free lump sum and a lower level of pension;
A facility to purchase up to £5,000 of added annual pension;
An increase in the death grant to 3 times salary; and
Phased retirement arrangements that would enable TPS members under defined circumstances to continue working as a teacher within the TPS while drawing down some or all of their accrued pension benefits.

Full details, more detailed information and helpful questions and answers

IMPORTANT

Due to changes to TPS’s Web site, the location of some documents highlighted below may have changed, see http://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/bulletin/article1.htm

Full and Part-time Teachers

As you will see from the differences in the present and new scheme benefits, those teachers who join the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for the first time, making contributions from or after 1st January 2007, will have a Normal Pension Age of 65.

Protecting Normal Pension Age 60

Those teachers who are presently working either full or part-time and are not making pension contributions and have never made any contributions towards the Teachers’ Pension Scheme may be able to commence making contributions prior to 31st December 2006 to retain a Normal Pension Age of 60. An application to join the scheme must be made before 31st December 2006.

Any teacher in this position must also ask their employer to commence pension deductions from salary either from 1st December 2006 or earlier, because normally elections to make contributions either on part-time earnings or, for full-time employees, an Opt-in election, will take effect the month following an election being received.

Protecting NPA 60 where there is a break in service

For those teachers have made contributions but who have a break from teaching must return to teaching within 5 years for a minimum period of time to retain a Normal Retirement Age of 60.

For those teachers who have made contributions in the past but are having a break from teaching now and that break is already in excess of 5 years, that teacher must return to teaching before 31st December 2007 to retain Normal Pension Age of 60.

Past Added years

Buying past added years is a method of purchasing additional teaching service to increase pension benefits.

After 31 December 2006 you will no longer be able to buy past added years but existing arrangements will be honoured. You need therefore to consider whether to purchase past added years now.

Full details of purchasing Past Added Years are included in Teachers’ Pensions leaflet 374 Purchasing Additional Service: www.teacherspensions.co.uk

From 1 January 2007, the facility to buy Past Added Years will be replaced by a method of purchasing Additional Pension Benefits. For further details of purchasing Additional Pension Benefits, and to enable comparisons to be made, follow this link to the document produced by Teachers’ Pensions (Word doc)

Before making any financial or investment decisions you should seek the advice of an Independent Financial Adviser. This type of advice can only legally be given by a qualified Financial Advisor. PAT has contacts with 2 firms of qualified Independent Financial Advisors who are available to give financial and investment advice:

Paul Dunbar, ProAct Financial (01299 877507)
Richard Basford, Wentworths (01604 795400).

Changes Following ‘A’ Day

You will no doubt have heard about the Inland Revenue changes which took effect on 6 April 2006.

Summary of the changes which have been introduced following 6 April 2006: www.teacherspensions.co.uk

Surviving Partners’ Benefits

Both new entrants and existing members, who are not married or who have entered into a civil partnership agreement, will be able to provide dependent benefits for ‘nominated’ heterosexual and same sex partners. There will be a qualifying period of 2 years pensionable service from 1 January 2007. Existing members will be able to buy in pre 1 January 2007 service for a surviving partner benefit at full cost and this will count towards the qualifying period. The member must nominate his or her partner in a prescribed format and they must complete a joint declaration of partnership.

There will be a time limit in which to buy this pre 1 January 2007 service and you should receive some information by your employer. Please look out for this.

Teachers’ Pensions literature

The DfES and Teachers’ Pensions are currently reviewing and rebranding all Teachers’ Pensions literature to coincide with the Scheme changes.

The literature will include key factsheets which will incorporate short bullet point sheets on single issues which aim to give all the facts at a glance with a link to the Teachers’ Pensions website for more detailed leaflets where necessary.

To have a look at some of the literature developed so far please log onto: www.teacherspensions.co.uk and click onto the Bulletin Board and "TP literature changes".

New look Teachers’ Pensions - ADDvantage

Teachers’ Pensions has launched a new online service via the Teachers’ Pensions website. The service will allow members, employers and Teachers’ Pensions to interact by passing, receiving or submitting data, such as election forms, securely across the Internet.

This site is now in operation. The facility provides members, who successfully register, with a PIN number to gain access to the secure on-line service. Presently, members can:

Access, verify and update their personal information;
Make a part-time election: on completion of this e-form we will automatically validate the applicant’s eligibility to make this election and inform them immediately of the result. Only valid applications will proceed to be electronically transmitted to the relevant employer. Employers will then receive immediate on-line notification of the election with the ability to then certify the election and forward the e-form to TP electronically;
Obtain a real-time ‘Estimate of Retirement Benefits’. This allows members to gain access and view details of their pension benefits. Their ‘on-line’ estimate is automatically updated whenever a change to their pension record occurs. This provides members with the control of when they receive an estimate and ensures that they always see the current status of their entitlement;
Use the service to electronically complete and submit a death grant nomination Form directly to TP;
Access payslip and P60 information on-line if the member is a pensioner.

www.teacherspensions.co.uk

https://addvantage.capitahartshead.co.uk/tp

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