To opt out of my teaching pension?

[Artfullydead]

Just that, really ... any thoughts?

We could really, really use the extra money tbh.

The lump sum can be nominated to be paid to anyone.

If death in service- the surviving spouse gets 3 months at members salary rate the drops down to the spouses pension rate.

Any dependent children also get a pension up to 18 or 23 if they remain in full time education.

I don't know if it still applies but if a spouse remarried their pension used to cease - but the children's pensions increased.

Also it used to get complicated if the children were not in the care of the dependent spouse but that may have changed now.

But even if your dh does remarry in the event you die presumably he'll still look after your dc and the money will help with that? He won't just be giving it to the theoretical new wife, one presumes.
I hope you find a solution. You sound really desperate to reduce your stress levels and workload. Running the numbers to see how much extra you'd have each month is probably the best first step.

It's OK, was just a thought. It is frustrating, tbh, because I really don't think I'll see an awful lot of that pension but I suppose the lump sum can help DCs with house deposits.

Don't leave the TPS. It is one of the best pension schemes out there.

Do many teachers really make it to 60?!

Me. I'm 64 and still teaching full-time.

Like I say, just a thought :)

I've been teaching for 30 years and following bad advice, opted out of the TPS for 5 years at the beginning. I had the sense to opt back in but my pension has taken a hit. I'll be able to retire at 60 but could kick myself for those lost 5 years!

Hi OP,

I’m a secondary English teacher too - you sound so low and overwhelmed. Have you thought about seeing GP? Not to get signed off necessarily- I know how much additional stress that can cause but to see what they could give you to help.

With regard to finances - exam marking? You can mark more than one paper. It’s a hell of a slog but I found that if you are organised and committed it is doable and can raise quite a bit extra. There are other companies/exam boards that you can work for over the rest of the year too and you also have the option of tutoring up your sleeve. Sounds like you’re working FT which makes these extras even tougher so believe me I get it.

Any chance that you can move up through pay progression or get a TLR?

I'm already on the highest one without being on the leadership scale. It's fine. I already mark exams.

You need a different school. I’m secondary English and SENCO. I work full time and have two kids and I sure as hell won’t be spending the next two holidays in school. Not all schools grind you down like yours is doing. The answer is to change employers, not ditch your pension and fuck up yo

This! My last two schools, all be them far from perfect. Don't expect as much as your school.

I may do one day revision at Easter but its not expected.

I opted out my nhs pension a few years ago, terms and conditions had changed 3 times since I joined, eg contributions had gone up, age when I could claim had gone up. When I joined my lump sum was better and I could have retired at 55, now it’s 67, with no option to take earlier retirement.
I calculated I had paid in cira 75000 over the years and would pay that again in the next 20 years I had to work.
Essentially I would say, look into the terms and conditions and know what you get and when and make an informed decision x

No! Your employer pays in too, you would lose that element as well.

OP, you honestly sound depressed. Please see your GP.

I’m also an English teacher. I would suggest that you look seriously at moving to another school. I assume you’re on UPS3? If you want to bring in another income stream I’d suggest tutoring over exam marking. The latter is great CPD but fairly poorly paid piece work. There is always demand for English tutors, but you might need to go looking for it.

Fighting - what would you have got for the £150k btw?

OP, what are your DH's pension arrangements?

Surely you're being paid extra for working during the holidays? And therefore generating extra, much needed cash. Working 'all holiday' would equal hundreds of pounds. Sounds like you already have a good solution for getting the extra cash.

Surely you're being paid extra for working during the holidays?

if only this was true! Teachers certainly do not get paid extra for going in during the holidays to do revision sessions. It is so their classes get good results and they don't get an ear bashing from the head in September because students have come under already unrealistic targets.

Tomhazard I have never done a revision session that I was not paid for. And I have done many, over many years, and in different schools. If you are not being paid, you should be contacting your union if there is an expectation that you do these sessions. If you are doing them out of the goodness of your own heart, well, don't. It allows the school to take further advantage of your goodwill.

News to me! I never did them in state schools and in private we do them out the goodness of hearts I guess. For much higher salaries and better working conditions though so no one seems to mind.
Do you get paid extra for parents evening then?

Fighting, what do you plan to live on when you retire?

Tomhazard No because Parents Evenings are included within the 1265 directed time hours. Holiday revision sessions aren't.

Are you mad ??? Stay in for gods sake Compound interest and all that.
Govt backed

I'm with @famousfour - the numbers don't add up. Giving up the pension might remove a bit of the financial pressure (for now; but not long term) but it absolutely would not be enough to allow you to cut your days and keep your head above water - you'd be even worse off than now.

I think you have 2 separate issues here - work related stress and financial/home issues. Pension withdrawal would sort one but not the other. I can't believe there's no demand for English tutoring though?!

Stay in the pension scheme and apply for jobs in the UAE. My brother's making a mint and loving it (he's HOD in Dubai)

I was a pensions officer for years and currently work in education and deal with pensions. Years ago it was really common for women to opt out of pension when they went on mat leave in fact it was the rule for some time in the scheme I helped administer that part timers couldn't contribute.

I can honestly say not one woman who opted out and in many cases forgot or didn't opt back in for too long say it was worth it. It was always s big regret when they came to retire that their pension wasn't as high as it could be. In some cases it was because they expected to have a husband to live off except life doesn't always work out that way.

Also remember you get tax savings on your pension so while you might be paying £400 into your pension it will only be costing you at most £320.

Finally as others have said, don't under estimate the death in service and survivors pensions. As a current member they are always so much better than for deferred members.

I always remember a member of staff passing away suddenly. She had been in the scheme but opted out when she had her baby and forgot to opt back in. The financial impact on her DH and child really wasn't worth the short term gain in money.

Please think very carefully.

We recently had a massive down turn in income. We have switched to meal planning, online food shop once per week (so we try to limit another other popping into the supermarket midweek), I have also stopped school dinners and instead the children have packed lunch and I make them as cheap and cheerful as we can including them having left over pasta for lunch at least once a week. As well as reducing meals out/drinking we haven't really made any huge changes but we are comfortably managing on about £400 less a month.