NAHT recognises the invaluable contribution made by school leaders, teachers and support staff throughout their careers and believes they deserve a decent quality of life in retirement.
Pensions remain a vital part of the overall package available to those working in education. The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme provide a guaranteed pension income in retirement, linked to inflation and paid for life. Depending on your circumstances and service history, you may also be able to take a tax-free lump sum and access benefits before State Pension Age.
NAHT is committed to ensuring that these valuable benefits remain available to members now and in the future.
Protecting members’ pensions: key areas of focus
NAHT is represented on the TPS Advisory Board and regularly works with government representatives, Teachers’ Pensions and other education trade unions to help shape pension policy, address administration issues and protect members’ pension benefits.
- McCloud remedy delays – NAHT is aware that significant delays remain for retired members affected by the McCloud remedy. NAHT is pressing Teachers’ Pensions to resolve these delays as quickly as possible and has called for particular priority to be given to members who retired on ill-health
- Administration transfer – the scheme’s management is set to transfer from Capita to Tata Consulting Services from November 2026. NAHT is monitoring the work underway to ensure this transfer goes smoothly.
- Gender pension gap – NAHT is working alongside other trade unions to address the gender pension gap and improve retirement outcomes for women working in education and the wider public sector.
- Tax liabilities – lobbying the government to ensure that no members face HMRC tax liabilities due to the way in which the TPS remedy, following the 2018 McCloud ruling, has been applied to individual member accounts.
You can find out further detail on work underway in specific locations by contacting your local branch and/or policy@naht.org.uk.
Member updates
- The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that employer contribution rates for the TPS will decrease from 28.6% to 17.6% from April 2027. Funding guidance published alongside the announcement confirms that schools’ funding allocations will be adjusted to reflect the reduced employer pension costs.
- The DfE has confirmed that employee contribution rates for the TPS will decrease by 0.25% from April 2027.
- The management of the TPS is scheduled to transfer from Capita to Tata Consulting Services from November 2026. Members may see a difference in their portal and need a new login; you should receive updated information on this from the TPS.
- Keeping pension records up to date: a recent Pensions Ombudsman determination highlights the importance of keeping Teachers’ Pensions informed of any relevant change in circumstances. In most cases, pension overpayments can be recovered even where the overpayment arose because of administrative error. Members should therefore ensure that Teachers’ Pensions and their employer hold accurate and up-to-date information.
Advice and guidance
Members who would like more information about their pension, or who need help with a specific issue, should contact NAHT’s specialist advice team to arrange a discussion with a specialist adviser.
You can also access our specialist pensions guidance and support resources through the NAHT advice and support pages.
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