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Pensions

NAHT applauds the contribution of school leaders, teachers and other public service workers, acknowledging the challenging nature of their work and their entitlement to a decent quality of life in retirement.

Yet for the last decade, teachers’ and school leaders’ pay has fallen in real terms every year. At the same time, the value and benefit of the pension schemes have been undermined, meaning that teachers and leaders have had to pay more for their pensions but will receive less benefit from them.

We know that the overall reward package does have an important impact, and the erosion of this is clearly adding to the recruitment and retention crisis facing the sector today.

NAHT remains opposed to any attempts to make school leaders work longer, pay more and get less. This includes:

Opposition to the acceleration of further increases to the state pension age, and the linking of state pension age to the teachers’ pension schemes (TPS) and the local government pension scheme (LGPS)
Opposition to tiering arrangements in the teachers’ pension scheme contributions that disadvantage school leaders and to increases that are only applied to leadership contributions.

Our key areas of focus

NAHT currently has three key areas of focus it is working on in relation to members’ pensions across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown dependencies.

Age discrimination in public sector pensions
The pause on pension benefits
Independent schools

You can find out further detail on work underway in specific locations by contacting your local branches and/or policy@naht.org.uk

Information on our latest funding campaigning, which includes our work to ensure sufficient long-term funding to cover increases to employer pension costs, can be found here.

Pensions: our three key areas of focusWe outline our three key areas of focus in relation to members' pension. 16/11/2020

Pensions news

Changes to ensure equality in survivor benefit provisions in the teachers' pension scheme now agreed The Department for Education has confirmed that legislation will be changed in relation to survivor benefits for male spouses of female members of the TPS. 10 November 2020
NAHT's response to the teachers' pension scheme: independent schools proposal consultation Read our response regarding proposed changes to the participation of independent schools in the Teachers' Pension Scheme 28 July 2020
Isle of Man pension update: cost-sharing The Public Sector Pensions Authority (PSPA) has been considering what it believes to be the most appropriate way to implement the cost-sharing arrangements that will apply to the Isle of Man... 01 July 2020
Funding to cover the increased employer pension contribution costs confirmed for schools in England The Department for Education has confirmed it will fund the increased employer pension contribution costs that state-funded schools and colleges in England will have to make for 2019-20. 30 October 2019
Court of Appeal decision on age discrimination in public sector pensions - update An update on age discrimination and public sector pensions. 09 July 2019
NAHT submits joint union response to Isle of Man pension consultation NAHT along with a number of the other teaching unions submitted a joint response making a clear case that any cost-sharing mechanism should be based on sustainability, stability and fairness. 21 May 2019
NI Employers' pension contribution uplift reckoner 2019 NI Employers' pension contribution uplift reckoner 2019 16 May 2019
Welsh government finally confirms funding to cover the increases to employer contribution costs NAHT has been campaigning hard to make the case for provision in Wales, including writing to all Welsh Westminster MPs and all assembly members (AMs), asking them for support in securing a fairer pay... 25 March 2019
Government confirms a pause to pension improvements The government has announced a pause to the central assumptions of the valuation of public service pensions, following a court ruling on part of the 2015 pension reforms. 12 February 2019
Teachers Working Longer report finally released The Department for Education (DfE) has finally produced the long-awaited final report of its Teachers Working Longer Review. 23 January 2019

CENEWLINKPensions advice

A really good starting point to learn more about your pension is the suite of factsheets that NAHT has produced. These deal with the key areas which are relevant to members such as early retirement, flexibilities that can add more to your pension and ill-health retirement. Currently these factsheets do not include the impact of McCloud – as soon as that becomes clear we will add an additional factsheet explaining its impact and what it may mean for you.

You can find these by clicking the link here.