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AIBU?

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Original poster

Anyone know anything about teacher pensions?

36 replies

FucksInARow · 19/12/2023 08:08

I'm trying to work out where I stand. Get my ducks in a row.

Anyone have any idea what a teacher pension might be after 20 years working in inner and outer London secondary schools with 15 years of that being a head of dep?

I can't find an estimate online and DH doesn't talk to me about these things. Any estimates?

OP posts:
Skyblue92 · 19/12/2023 08:12

can access the teacher pension website? It will have a calculator on there.

website is teacherpensions.co.uk

you then click benefit statement and current year (once logged in) and this will give you the current figures. If you go to planning retirement there is a calculating benefits section and then go to the bottom and click calculate and fill in the details

DelightfulDoris · 19/12/2023 08:13

Have you got your paperwork?
If so just call TPA with your plan number and personal details and ask for a valuation ans upto date plan info to be sent to you by post or email.

You can’t estimate these things!

Skyblue92 · 19/12/2023 08:13

Also it’s good to check employment history to make sure you aren’t missing any years

PercyMcPigface · 19/12/2023 08:14

Is this your pension or are you trying to find out what you might be entitled to under your DP's? As other people have said, the Teacher's Pension scheme has a good website, but it does use two factor authentication so requires a text message pin to log in.

BorisIsACuntWaffle · 19/12/2023 08:15

@FucksInARow if the pension is his you won't be able to see.
If it's yours get logged in and check the figures

Tistheseason23 · 19/12/2023 08:15

Teachers pensions send you an email each year with an estimate but you can log in at any time.

Original poster
FucksInARow · 19/12/2023 08:17

Sorry I've not been clear. My DH is the teacher. I work in another industry and know what my pension is worth. I'm not after his pension or anything I'm just trying to work out where I stand and he doesn't know/won't talk about finances. I thought perhaps someone might be able to give a rough figure based on that info. I have no idea if it's 10p or £000.

OP posts:
Gran0laG1rl · 19/12/2023 08:18

I only taught for 12 years and stopped in 2003. How on earth do I track down my pension?

Holdingontilljuly · 19/12/2023 08:20

If it is his then he can access estimates via TPS online. He will need to ensure there are no missing years/terms as that can take a while and is a bloody nightmare to correct.

Has he paid in extra?

is he state or private? As over past few years indies have been leaving TPS

Skyblue92 · 19/12/2023 08:21

Honestly OP you’d have to know the salary he is on, there is a calculator that you would be able to access as it’s on the main site and you can fill in the calculator I mentioned, it asks for date of birth, full time/part time, current salary and when joined the pension service/any breaks

Holdingontilljuly · 19/12/2023 08:22

@Gran0laG1rl you need to go to TPS online and access your account

inappropriateportioncontrol · 19/12/2023 08:31

OP your post was clear to me .
Why dont you start a new thread titled something like
if you've had 15 yrs as a department head in a London secondary school can I ask what sort of pension you expect ?

LightToTheWorld · 19/12/2023 08:32

Very rough but the accrual rate for the teachers scheme is 1/57- so that much of salary for each year of work. It’s a career average scheme.

Calculating the CETV is much harder though- you might get a steer on that by searching with that term.

Testina · 19/12/2023 08:37

Gran0laG1rl · 19/12/2023 08:18

I only taught for 12 years and stopped in 2003. How on earth do I track down my pension?

Well the obvious place to start is the pension provider, surely?

inappropriateportioncontrol · 19/12/2023 08:38

@LightToTheWorld do you have some knowledge about occupational pensions ?I don't want to highjack the thread but wanted to ask a question about a pension (not yet accessed ) increasing not because linked to RPI but because I'm now in my 70s .

Original poster
FucksInARow · 19/12/2023 08:39

I was being naive thinking someone would be able to give a rough guess...even within a big range.

He's was a NQT in 2004. He became head of dep in 2008. He stayed head of dep until last year. All state. All London. Not paid in any extra. No breaks.

I am trying to persuade him to let me and the kids stay in the home if I agree to take over the whole mortgage by myself and thought I'd tell him I'll leave his pension alone if he let's me stay at home. But no idea if even enough to be of value.

OP posts:
saraclara · 19/12/2023 08:41

If he's worked for 20 years, under the old system he'd get 30% of final salary. But it's changed in the last decade so he straddles the two systems, and I'm not up on the new one. But it would be a fair bit less as the proportion is smaller and it's based on average, not final salary.

You need to have an idea of his salary. Surely you know roughly what he earns?

Testina · 19/12/2023 08:42

Do not agree to any proposal (including your own) until you have the details. You could say, “maybe” that’s something to explore.
He will have to provide pension details as part of the divorce process, so he can’t hide it from you forever.

Frogglingalong · 19/12/2023 08:42

If he doesn't think it's any of your business, presumably you shouldn't be factoring it into your own financial planning? He literally just has to log on to his online account and it'll be right there...

For what it's worth, I've done 10 years from NQT to HoD and mine's worth 9k a year when I retire. His should be decent, probably just about enough to live on just with the 20 years service.

Frogglingalong · 19/12/2023 08:45

Oh right, have just read last post.

Do you have a claim on a DB pension if you divorce? Not sure how that works as it's not a pot that can be split...

myphoneisbroken · 19/12/2023 08:49

Yes you can claim/split a DB pension as part of a divorce.

I agree with this: "Do not agree to any proposal (including your own) until you have the details. You could say, “maybe” that’s something to explore." I know it's so tempting to just want to get it sorted but you don't want to end up shortchanging yourself.

LightToTheWorld · 19/12/2023 08:49

FucksInARow · 19/12/2023 08:39

I was being naive thinking someone would be able to give a rough guess...even within a big range.

He's was a NQT in 2004. He became head of dep in 2008. He stayed head of dep until last year. All state. All London. Not paid in any extra. No breaks.

I am trying to persuade him to let me and the kids stay in the home if I agree to take over the whole mortgage by myself and thought I'd tell him I'll leave his pension alone if he let's me stay at home. But no idea if even enough to be of value.

The problem is that even if he told you how much pension he has accrued, you couldn't use that to determine the CETV (how much that right to a pension would be worth as a lump sum today)- that's a really complicated question.

It doesn't seem a crazy idea though. Say his average salary for 20 years was £50k.

1/57 x 50000 x 20 = £17.5k

So what is the right to receive an index-linked pension of £17.5k when he reaches retirement age worth today? I wouldn't even guess but clearly a lot.

If you want to ask your question again on here, I'd try looking for people who have been divorced where either they or their partner had a DB pension and ask about the valuation. No point just asking teachers what pension they have accrued as they will only know what they've accrued as annual pension, not the CETV.

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