NAHT is aware of significant delays in responses to pension queries in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and has been raising these concerns both publicly and privately with the scheme administrator and the Department for Education (DfE).

This backlog of pension queries is largely due to the complex implementation of the McCloud remedy, which addresses age discrimination in public sector pension reforms that were made in 2015.

As a result, all affected members of the TPS must now be given a choice between two sets of pension benefits for the period between 2015 and 2022. To enable this choice, the TPS must issue a Remediable Service Statement (RSS) to hundreds of thousands of scheme members – active, deferred and retired, to support individuals to make an informed decision. However, the scale and complexity of this has resulted in a backlog, and although a significant amount have been issued, many complex cases are still being processed and many retired members are yet to receive their adjusted payments.

The remedy also involves tax implications, requiring some members to revise their Annual Allowance calculations and report changes to HMRC, adding further administrative requirements.

Although NAHT cannot take up individual pension cases (as we have no standing on this issue), we are working to identify the key issues and take steps to press for change for our members that leads to an improved service given by the TPS and as swift a resolution for members to their issues as possible.

Our main concerns are centred around:

1. management of complaints
2. Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETVs) 
3. retired members and their RSS 
4. adjustment payments 
5. new retirement applications.

As a result, we continue to raise these issues through:

1. Our representation on the TPS scheme advisory board – at every meeting, we are pressing on the need for formal investigation and seeking options that will speed up the resolutions of the backlog
2. Escalated matters to the DfE – we wrote to senior officials in the DfE in early September 2025, demanding urgent action to address the failings of the scheme. This ensures that the responsibility for this cannot be sidestepped; the DfE is responsible for the TPS even though the administration of the scheme is provided by a private body. 
3. Raising issues in the press – you will hopefully have seen us raising these issues in the media (including in Schools Week and on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme, BBC news and others), lobbying for additional resources and ensuring that member voices are heard. 

All of this has already resulted in additional staff being recruited by TPS to help address the backlog.

NAHT will continue to keep this a priority area until the backlog and administrative issues have been resolved.