Teachers pension

[sorryIdidntmeanto]

This month my payslip says I paid £440 into my pension. I am the sole earner in my family. That is a lot of money to us. I know everyone says it is worth it, but can anyone help me understand how pensions work, so I feel less resentful? I keep reading that a huge pension pot only pays out a small amount each month. But if I am paying in over £400 a month, how would that look the other end? Can anyone explain easily? Many thanks

I don't know. Probably not a lot as I was on maternity leave and part time for a long time. I am early 40s. Sorry for the silly questions but I really appreciate the help. I find the Teachers Pension platform really inaccessible. But if I do manage to log in again, which I will try this weekend, will it have the amount in there?

Also, does everyone get a state pension? I am confused about contributions to that. I am prepared to do some reading around, if anyone can link some articles that would also be helpful. I just thought someone here might have some answers. Thanks again.

It is Teachers Pensions. I am trying to log in but they never recognise my details and I have to reset everything. I am stuck as my authenticator won't work. I'll have to work it all out when I have a bit more time.

Thanks. But I have had a new phone since I last logged in, and I can't get authenticator to work. I may have to wait until the IT dept at school can help me.

TP throws you out if you don’t log on at least once a year. You might need to create a new log in. The code is sent to your email for authentication.
I wasn’t even checking at your age but there have been lots of changes and it’s not as good as it was.
The company managing TP has just changed as they were very behind with everything. They still are.

I would still stick with it and not try to reduce contributions ( don’t even know if an option) It will be worth it when you retire.
You will get state pension and can check your eligibility age online.
You can get financial advice from an independent financial advisor.

Thanks all. I definitely can't log in today. Every time they send a code to the authenticator their website says the code has expired. It is maddening. I phoned the number but they are shut at weekends. I have a log in, that is all fine, I am just stuck at the authenticator.
I just want to understand how the pension works, but I suppose I will need to invest some time in reading around it.

All of this talk of pension pot and rate of employers contributions are not entirely applicable to TPS schemes.

Please, if you do one thing today, make it that you join the Facebook group called ... 'Teacher Pensions - Teacher to Teacher (UK)' This is run by a guy called David Fountain. You will not find a better open resource to give you advice and guidance through the implications, options, choices to do specifically with TPS, which is very different to other pension schemes.

Honestly it is the one thing I would recommend above anything else. That and actually logging in to your account on TPS.

Well, I imagine your job is Hard Work. Do you want to be doing it at 67? What about 70? 80?

You are paying into a pension so you can stop working when you can't do it anymore, and then you will get something similar to a waye, for life. If you don't pay into a pension, you will get the state pension (if eligible) which is about £800 a month I believe. That's £800 a month for food, council tax, bills, car, holidays etc. If you need more to live on at 67, and want to stop working, you really need to have a good pension. The teachers pension is one of the best there is. The £400 a month you put in will be matched by your employer, so £800, which is then invested to grow over time, to (hopefully) a large pot that you can exchange for a monthly sum, for life. The bigger the pot, the bigger the sum. If uou can get 1200 a month, then with your state pension thats £2000 a month, for life.

You would be a fool to come out of it for £400 a month spending money

Also if you are the only wage earner then your other half won't have much pension I imagine, so you will be needing every penny.

Thank you.

You are very welcome. Keep paying it and you will thank your past self when you retire x

If you keep paying into it now, you also have the option to retire earlier (e.g 60) and get less per month, or later (e.g. 70) and get more. Teachers in the family have retired in their mid 50s, say 55 and accepted a smaller pension, but worked in an easier, part time job (think admin for the local council) until 67, to get the same money but with a lot less stress.

If you pay into it now, you have options. If you don't you might be panicking in your 50s and frantically trying to save for retirement, when you really want to be winding down.

I second joining David Fountains Facebook group. He also has some really useful short videos that explain various aspects of the TPS on YouTube.

It's because of David that I retired last year aged 56 after 29 years in primary. He looked at my figures for me and predicted what I would get down to a few pounds difference.

Please, please don't stop paying into your pension. I cannot believe where the 29 years have gone and that I'm now semi-retired. The time goes so fast.

Regarding accessing your statement, you will need to speak to someone at TPS to reset it for you. I found dialling dead on 8.30am when lines open was the best. Obviously if you're teaching fulltime you will have to wait until Easter hols now.

Dave Fountain is amazing and so helpful 1:1. My pension is a mess as involved in 3 different variants of the pension scheme and a whole range of work patterns from full time to various degrees of part time, supply etc. He was able to give me really helpful input (he's very clear it's not "advice" as not official.)

TPS is by all accounts a bloody nightmare to get hold of, and it's not as good as it was, BUT it is defined benefit and is linked to inflation. So the only thing you need to look at really is the big figure on the statement which is what you'd get per month, not the size of a pension pot. Ignore references to pension pots!

Google AI overview of state pension:

As of 2025, the full new state pension is £230.25 a week (£11,973 a year), projected to rise to roughly £12,535+ per year by the next tax year. The 2040 amount will be higher due to inflation/earning adjustments, likely surpassing £15,000-£17,000 annually, though this depends on the future of the triple lock.

Edit: typo

Oh, and you might want to look at your union for support...NASUWT are linked up with Wesleyan Financial advisors who will assess your position for free. (I think they charge if you take products out with them, but they were good to get a general overview.)

I do find it hard to understand, but after hours on the phone to them I finally logged in. My statement says around £10000, which according to most people in this forum is a pittance. Seems mad that I have so little when I started teaching 18 years ago and currently pay so much in. I have had some breaks and part time though. I guess the only sensible thing is to keep paying in.

Any time out of teaching or part time will inevitably knock some off your pension. However, the Teachers Pension scheme is a defined benefits scheme and one of the best pensions going. You’d be mad to stop paying in. Honestly you will thank yourself profusely in the future. Especially as you say you’re sole earner. Keep going with it. I would make other cut backs before even considering leaving the scheme.

Unfortunatley lots of people who don't know anything about TPS will post on these threads with incorrect information.
The money is not invested and you don't have a 'pension pot' so to speak.
Instead each year one fifty seventh of your salary is added pension - which you have said is 10,000. That means you will recieve a yearly income of 10,000 from TPS if you retire at normal pension age.
This 10,000 is revalued using CPI each year -and whilst you are still contributing to TPS it is revalued at CPI + 1.6%.
As you are paying in 400 per month - it's likely you wage is around £48,000.
That would mean you are adding an additional ~£850 to your yearly pension every year you are paying into TPS, in addition to the previously accured pension increasing with CPI.
This will be slightly more complicated for you as you will have you pension split accross two different schemes - you benefit statement on the website should show you two different options you can choose when you retire.

This is what’s so good about the TPS. Your money, from your and your employer’s contributions is not invested in the stock market. It’s not subject to the fluctuations. The TPS is based on your salary and number of years’ service. Obviously if you have career breaks/ only work part time, then your pension will be reduced accordingly. But it’s a flipping amazing pension compared to most and the OP would be mad to stop paying in.

Thank you all for taking the time to comment.