The key is it isn’t just about the percentage the school pay into any type of pension - those pulling out often offer to pay a similar amount into a defined contribution pension.
The key is that defined benefit (which is what teacher pension is) gives you a guaranteed income for life - you know what you’ll get as it’s determined by service and your pay. It will pay out every year after you take it, index linked for inflation and with a survivor pension for your spouse.
The new pension will be defined contribution. The contributions made by employer and employee go into a pot. The pot is invested in the stock market. You know what’s being paid in, but not what it will be worth at the end…that’s determined by stock market performance. And then when you retire, you can leave it invested and choose how much to draw down each year (have to choose so it won’t run out before you die) and what hasn’t been drawn out each year can remain invested. This is in the hope it will grow, but of course some years it will fall. There is no certainty of its value and there’s no certainty of how long you’ll live. It’s not index linked for inflation and it’s not got a spousal benefit when you die.
The alternative with to draw down is to buy an annuity…this gives you something like the teacher pension currently does - a guaranteed income for life - and if you pay more can be index linked and spousal pension. Typically £30k from your pot will buy you £1k of pension per year.
To compare, when you look at the teacher pension, someone earning £28k is adding £500 to their pension each year. So, the question is whether someone arming £28k will have combined contributions from themselves and their employer of £15k per year - as that’s what it would cost to buy a £500 pension. It’s highly unlikely to be anywhere near this. And that’s why the teacher pension is so so much better value. It also gives you the certainty that defined contribution or annuities lack…you’d never know the price of an annuity until you’re close to retirement.
Avoid schools without Teacher Pension Scheme. They will tell you about how their new version is flexible and staff can choose how much to pay in - that’s true. They will tell you the school makes a generous contribution to the new scheme - that’s probably true, although the amount they pay in could easily change over time. What they won’t point out is that your monthly retirement income is likely to be significantly lower, and you simply wo t have a guaranteed monthly retirement income that you can spot and identify while you are working…so the certainty the Teacher Pension gives you is lost.
If you’re already in a school where the TPS has been left, I’d leave. It’s hard for some people with kids locally etc. I know that. But if you’re looking for a new job, dont even consider schools outside the TPS unless you’re only looking for the last year or 2 of your career and already have enough pension built up in the TPS…and even then, they would you choose to go for the lesser option.
Honestly, these schools who pulled out, due to financial issues are on a slippery slope. Increasingly it will be hard to recruit quality staff and that isn’t going to help them boost their numbers and provide financial stability. So I would say a school which has withdrawn already has indicated it isn’t in the best shape.