The Government is committed to reviewing the long-term affordability and sustainability of public service pension schemes, which includes the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). It aims to conduct reform to ensure that the scheme remains one of the best available, providing teachers with a quality and sustainable pension that adequately reflects their services to education.
The first phase of the consultation, which ran from the 7th of May until the 28th of June, requested views on the arrangements for implementing reform. The Government will publish its response alongside the second consultation on the draft regulations, which detail how teachers’ pensions will build on a career average basis and how benefits will be paid. This second consultation will begin on Friday the 13th of September and run until Monday the 11th of November.
If you would like to register your views on the consultation, you can visit the Department for Education Consultation Unit website. You can also complete the response form, which is available online, and email it to reformedteacherspension.consultation@education.gsi.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can post the form to: TPS Reform Consultation, GF Area B, Department of Education, Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington, DL3 9BG.
The regulations should be made in the Spring of 2014 and come into force in April 2015. This will ensure both members and employers have sufficient time to understand the changes involved. To keep up to date with the reform you can visit the Teachers’ Pensions website, which also provides tools to help you understand what the changes mean for you.