Existing members:

Due to the package of reforms and improvements to the TPS, you may want to take this opportunity to review your pension provision and consider whether your current elections are still appropriate for you.

Part Time

• If you are part time and your employment contract changes, you will automatically become a member of the TPS. If you do not wish to be, you will need to formally opt out of the scheme. It may be possible for you to submit an election to opt out of the scheme via My Pension Online (our secure website).
• If you are part time, were not a member of the TPS before 1 January 07 and you have not had a change in your employment contract, you will need to opt in if you want to join the scheme.

Survivor Benefits

• If you are living with a partner to whom you are not married or have not registered a civil partnership, you can now nominate your partner to receive benefits on your death.
• Entitlement does not automatically follow nomination. Evidence of financial dependency/interdependency will need to be supplied by your partner on your death.
• You can also purchase your previous service to count towards those benefits at full cost. You will have six months from the date of nomination to elect to pay these extra contributions.
• You will be able to pay by lump sum or by instalments.

If you have an existing stepping down election in place, this will be honoured. However, you may wish to consider whether it is still appropriate given the revised arrangements for calculating the salary on which your pension benefits will be worked out (see Average salary fact sheet). You will want to consider taking independent financial advice before making any decision.

You can increase the tax-free lump sum amount of three times pension payable at retirement up to a maximum of 25% of your fund value. You will need to give up £1 of annual pension to get the equivalent of £12 of additional lump sum.

Additional Pension

• Up to £5,000 of additional annual pension can be purchased at any point in your career. The smallest amount that can be bought at any one time is £250 of annual pension. The cost of buying additional annual pension will depend on your age at the time it is bought. This maximum increases to £5,200 with effect from 1 April 2008.
• Within the annual pension of £5,000, you can buy personal benefits only, or personal and dependants’ benefits. You are unable to buy dependants’ benefits only.
• Past Added Years and Current Added Years provisions have been removed although existing contracts are honoured.

From age 55, you can have access to some or all of your pension benefits and continue working, but you will have to take a reduction in pensionable salary of at least 25%. You will be able to do this on two occasions before your Normal Pension Age (NPA).

You are able to increase your pension provision by paying more into the Teachers’ AVC Scheme or any other pension saving vehicle outside the TPS arrangement as long as, combined, they are within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) annual and lifetime allowances.