Break-in service: alternative career

In the final article in this month’s focus on taking a break, we look at the consequences of entering a different career on your pension. There is no doubt that teaching has felt challenging and unforgiving during the pandemic, made worse by a general attitude of under-appreciated from the public in general.

It might be that you want to seek out an alternative career in a new sector. Where you choose to work next could have an impact on your pension.

A career with a private or workplace pension

If you change your career and your role and are offered a private pension or use one of the workplace pensions, you will start accruing time towards a disqualifying break in service. This means that you have five years to return to pensionable service in teaching before your pension value is impacted.

A career with a public service pension scheme

If you join another public services pension scheme, such as those offered by the Local Government or the NHS, then your time in this work will not count towards a disqualifying break. You may also be able to transfer your teachers’ pension to the new scheme.

What this means is that if you have, let’s say, eight years out of the classroom but four of these were with the NHS, your break would not be considered disqualifying.

Be aware that you will need to provide evidence of membership in an alternative public service pension scheme when you return to teaching.

Making your choice

Your pension may have financial consequences if you choose to leave teaching for more than five years. Your financial security in retirement could be compromised if you don’t have an alternative plan for your future. As the Teacher Pension Scheme cannot offer advice, you may benefit from a consultation with an independent financial adviser to help you plan for a potential future out of the classroom.

The content in this article was correct on September 26th, 2021. You should not rely on this article to make important financial decisions. Teachers Financial Planning offers advice on pensions for teachers and non-teachers. Please use the contact form below to arrange an informal chat with an advisor and see how we can help you.