To opt out of my teaching pension?

[Artfullydead]

Just that, really ... any thoughts?

We could really, really use the extra money tbh.

What's the earliest you can take early retirement?

I don't know ... how can i find out?

You can draw your pension down from 55, although you lose 4%ish each year (from memory). So if you retire at 60 instead of 69 you'll lose 36% of the value....however that might still be enough to allow you to retire, or drop down to part-time working as something else plus pension.

Have you looked on the teachers pension website? It will give you a current benefit statement. It seems like you don’t have enough information to opt out yet.
In a matter of minutes you would know what your estimated pension and lump sum would be.
Then you would be in a better position to make plans or decisions.

No, don't opt out! It's a brilliant pension that most people would love to have. You would essentially be turning down free money.

Also, it may enable you to retire early as you can take it 10 years early at a reduced amount. You would have to be really desperate to opt out.

Thanks. Thing is, I want to be part time now, when my kids are young, not at 60 when they are in their twenties.

The TP website has modellers so you can look at early retirement figures too

Go to tps online and register. That will tell you how much it is worth. After 16 years it will be fairly decent. Your payslip will tell you how much you are paying in to your pension. They are probably online too.

Have you looked into working/childcare tax credits?

Since going part time (3 days pw) we get a fair amount in tax credits (especially with childcare costs).

So your pension already would be quite good. Ive been teaching for 10 years with responsibility for 7, (although not SLT) and mine is £7200 per year if I gave up teaching tomorrow. So yours already must be £10kish. Register to look at the teachers' pension website and they will give you an up-to-date estimate.

At the moment, you are in debt and finding it hard to manage. You really need to sit down pen in hand and work out all your outgoings and income. At the moment you don't even know how much your pension contributions are.

Only by sitting and writing it all down will you get a handle on it.

There is huge call for tutoring for exams. Parents like using qualified teachers. Lots of sites you can advertise through at no cost to yourself (although some charge when you get students, others charge the student). It may take time to build up but put yourself out there because it will really make a difference.

Not a popular thing to do on MN but I froze my public sector pension for three years while I bought my first home on my own, this was aged 23-26 I needed the money in my bank more, and that flat earned me over fifty thousand in profit in six years, which went in as equity into our current house and I unfroze my pension nine years ago. If it's short term, makes financial sense and you know you will definitely unfreeze it, give yourself a little break to get straight.

3 days would lose too much money, wouldn't be entitled to TCs

At your age with 16 years service you can leave at 55 and take a 75,000 lump sum and have 18,000 a year to live on (roughly)

If you are putting in roughly £400 a month then they are putting in even more than that, it's literally one of the best places to put your money.

Leave at 55 and enjoy your few remaining years if you have health issues - very sorry to hear you may not live long into old age

Do anything to keep paying your pension if you can.

Is your dh working ft?

It would be madness. My teaching pension is nearly twice my OAP! It’s one of the best deals going.I paid extra years when I took early retirement.

Sorry crossed post re TP website.

Online tutoring you can do from home. I'm doing an a level session in 9 minutes. It's surprisingly easy! Skype while looking at PowerPoints, questions etc. First time is awkward but then you get used to the format and it's fine...no childcare needed!

No no don’t do it! Firstly, you need a pension of some sort. Secondly this is one of the best there is. Thirdly you’ve already been in for 16 years, and if you started another one in the future you’d be paying a second set of charges. Finally, because it’s an employer one, your employer pays in too, so free money! And anything additional is grossed up at your highest rate of tax. Also, some schemes are also tied in to their death in service benefit, so there’s a chance you could lose that as well.

just say no

Yeah he works FT

I know what you are saying Laurie ... it's more that all I can think is that then my kids will have left home or nearly left home. While now, I feel as if I never see them.

Keep paying into your pension. You will be so glad you did when you get old. I'm 61 and I speak from experience.

I opted out years ago, massively regretted it, just got swallowed up in all the debt, went back into it and will never leave it again no matter how bad things are (even when I went bankrupt it was protected).

Please don't do it. My public sector pensions kicked in at 60 and are worth a lot more than my state pension. You'll never regret being comfortable if you want to retire early.

But I don't want to retire early, I want to enjoy my life now

If you can stay in, do.
DB schemes are the best possible option for employees