Teacher pension... should I opt out?

[planAplanB]

I've read the absolutely shocking reviews of the TPS and now feel very worried about the money they are supposedly holding for me.

I understand the issues are with the poor communication and delays in sending paperwork.

Are they actually giving out pension money to teachers who have retired, or are they just holding the money? I've lost trust in them.

No. There are few pensions better than it. Yes, there are admin issues but those are separate from the actual value of the pension itself.

The delays are due to the changes in the transitional protection arrangements following on from the McCloud judgement.
All public service pension schemes were affected. CETV valuations were suspended until new Government guidance was issued to provide consistency across public sector pensions. This caused a backlog of cases that is still being worked through.

Absolutely DO NOT drop out! Comms etc may be appalling but it is one of the very best pension schemes around. I work in a hybrid environment where we have tuped and new teachers on various TPS, LGPS as well an Aviva and People's pension. We have 8 schemes running. TPS is the equivalent of about 30% higher pay than anyone else!

I'd be aware on trust pilot etc you are more likely to have people voicing problems than the millions who have the scheme with no trouble, it would never occur to them to write a review.

It's a disgrace that people cannot get through to them and queries are ignored for weeks and weeks. People are saying they retired but not received their pension money months later...

It is very frustrating, but, as everyone has said, you'd be very, very, very, very foolish to opt out in a fit of pique from the one perk the job has.

Oh, and TPS is no worse than the local government pension scheme, nor, from what I have heard, the NHS scheme.

Yes, it is disappointing to realise you don't just tell them you are retiring and they start sending you money, but all the advice on the first two pages still stands.

People only post on Trust pilot if they have a complaint. It's one thing if they've bought something from a company that sends them a link to persuade them to review them, but who thinks to post on Trust pilot about a pension? Only someone who's had problems.

Signed, a teacher who got her pension with no issues and is hugely grateful for it. But who's never thought to go on trust pilot to review it.

I have a few pensions from various jobs and I would say that the customer service is terrible in all of them at the moment. I think it's just a general issue for most companies of all sectors at the moment. Hopefully it will improve at some point in the future...

This one is.

I mean, one thing I would advise all teachers to do, is to actually look at their pension statement in detail each year and correct any mistakes.
It took 13months for my LA to correct their mistakes (and I really am pretty straightforward - no supply or anything).
The rep from Wesleyan told me 60% of pension statements / details of employment are wrong when people come to look at them.
In my case, at one point they stopped paying my pension for 3 months, then started it again. I hadn't changed jobs or anything, it was completely random.

Whatever you do, don't opt-out. That would be the most costly decision of your life.

The TPS is only beaten by other (more generous) public service DB schemes like in the NHS or in local government. In terms of input to output, it's untouchable compared to anything the private sector have to put up with.

The only thing to remember is it's never your money, it's all DB. Hence if you die then your partner will not be entitled to what you would have otherwise received. There are other caveats too.

Don't opt out but was your post prompted by this Daily Mail article y'day?

Why has Teachers' Pension Scheme delayed my divorce for over a year?
mol.im/a/13873185

I've just retired, had no issues accessing my pension at all. Initially it took a couple of months to get things moving, nothing seemed to happen for ages. It then steamrollered on very quickly! Lump sum paid the day after I retired, my first monthly payment is due in 6 days, I will let you know if it doesn't arrive😁. Very accurate forecast too.

OP, Wesleyan for Teachers can give free personalised pension advice