Unexpected drop in salary at new job due to higher fees?

[Laura2121]

Hello all,

I recently got a new job, a promoted position into middle management for which I moved across the country. My salary on my contract was naturally greater than at my last job.

However, my monthly payments are LESS than at my former job. Having compared my payslip to those at my last school, this is because:

• My student loan contribution has doubled

• My new school is on TPS so a large chunk is taken for pension every month. My last school was not on TPS; a different pension scheme

I am speaking to Finance at my new school who can’t do much about this.

I’m not sure of the reason for my student loan monthly payments increasing like that? My salary raise isn’t that much compared to last year and yet the loan repayment has doubled at this new place?

What do I do??

Thanks for your support

Surely you need to contact the student loan company rather than your school? Your school won't know your individual circumstances.

You can opt out of the pension but you shouldn’t do that without independent financial advice.

I agree with both previous answers.
You need to ask the Student loan company for information about why there is such a big jump in your student loan payment, not the school.

Opting out of the TPS at your previous school was never a good idea.

@Kite22

I agree with both previous answers. You need to ask the Student loan company for information about why there is such a big jump in your student loan payment, not the school.

Opting out of the TPS at your previous school was never a good idea.

Thanks for your answer and your helpful points but where did I say I opted out of TPS at my previous school? I said I was on a different pension scheme there which was not TPS, where simply less of a chunk was taken out for pension each month. I have never opted out of pension pay in my life. But I am considering opting out of TPS here due to the drop in pay.

Sorry, I inferred it, due to it being 'the norm' to be n the TPS, and the fact you have to opt out, to not be in it.

It isn't a drop in pay though. Do go over and read some of the pension threads. It might be a drop in the net money that comes into your bank account, but you will struggle to make a better investment than putting money into the TPS. Now, we have no idea of your other circumstances, and it may be you are desperate for the extra money in your account now and you might therefore choose not to have tax relief, plus your employers adding to everything you save, and you have the absolute right to withdraw, but it isn't a drop in pay, for you to have that money invested for you. Up to you if you consciously choose to stop.

The older generations are worried if the younger pull out there won't be enough cash in the pension pot to pull out their final salary pensions while our sad average salary pensions , which we will probably be able to retire and access by the time we are 75, will probably actually not exist 😂. Yeah, the TPS is great of you're going to retire in the next ten years. Otherwise, who knows what's going to happen.

@Kite22

Sorry, I inferred it, due to it being 'the norm' to be n the TPS, and the fact you have to opt out, to not be in it.

It isn't a drop in pay though. Do go over and read some of the pension threads. It might be a drop in the net money that comes into your bank account, but you will struggle to make a better investment than putting money into the TPS. Now, we have no idea of your other circumstances, and it may be you are desperate for the extra money in your account now and you might therefore choose not to have tax relief, plus your employers adding to everything you save, and you have the absolute right to withdraw, but it isn't a drop in pay, for you to have that money invested for you. Up to you if you consciously choose to stop.

Yes you are right. I know it is a very good investment. I guess because I’m just 32, and a while away from retiring, I’m not thinking too far ahead in terms of the benefits of a good pension pot. But I do appreciate the value of it.

I am just wondering something else; each time you change jobs, and you change to a different pension company, do you have to tell the old pension company about it?

At the 3 different jobs I have worked so far (in sixth form colleges), I have been on 3 different pension schemes from 3 different pension companies. Upon leaving each job I did not tell my current pension company.
I am still getting annual pension statements in the post from a job I was working at 4 years ago.
I am worried that all the pensions I have been gathering these last 6 years have not gone into the pension pot??

You definitely need to chase that bit up, you can usually transfer contributions from one scheme into another. It would be far better to have all your contributions in eg TPS. Having sadi that it is up to you to chase it, and there is a defined time limit of transferring under particularly benefical “rules”.

TPS is a much, much better pension scheme than any private alternative and it’s definitely worth paying into it. Your school will be making quite a large contribution into you pension pot with every payment you make. You may feel like it’s a long way off, as you’re only 32, but opting out is a seriously bad idea. The more you pay in now, the more you’ll benefit later, and if you don’t pay, then the school doesn’t give you the pension contribution that will have been budgeted for. Believe me, in the blink of an eye, you’ll be in your mid fifties and thinking about your retirement.