'NUT' National Union of Teacher

'NUT' National Union of Teachers - Warwickshire Division

Pensions

Eligibilty

All full time and part time teachers whose employer is accepted under the Teachers' Pension regulations, such as an LEA maintained school, some independent schools which have been accepted into the teachers scheme or employed in an LEA forum. The normal retirement age is 60 for men and women. All your basic pay and allowances counts towards your pension. Those in the teachers pension scheme are contracted out of SERPS.

Contributions

Teachers pay 6% and the employer a further 13.5% making a total of 19.5%. % (effective 1/4/2003).The employer has responsibility for making these payments and you need regularly check that the correct amounts have been paid. Income tax relief is given on contributions. If you are a full time teacher and accept a reduced salary you choose to pay contributions on the higher rate, which will be increased by the rate of the retail price index (RPI). but you must apply within 3 months of the salary reduction. You can also protect your pension if you step down to a lower salary without having to pay extra contributions by getting form 910 from your employer or from Teachers Pensions. Your retirement benefits will then be based on both your new and protected salary. You can make extra pension contributions in 3 ways.

You can buy in past added years. You can only buy back years that you were in pensionable employment. Leaflet 374 gives fuller details.
Pay additional voluntary contributions (AVC's) through the Prudential (the in house provider)
you make payments which are not taxed and build up a fund with which you can buy an annuity when you retire.

Prudential will send you an information pack on request to:
Prudential Life & Pensions
Teacher's AVC's
Abbey Gardens
55 Kings Road
Reading
RG1 1BR
Tel: 0845 6000343 Fax: 0118 9493422
Pay free standing additional voluntary contributions (FSAVC's) aren’t usually better than Prudential the in house provider as management costs are almost always higher.

Pension benefits

If you retire at 60 this is called age retirement and you will receive your teachers annual pensions, teachers scheme tax free lump sum and the basic flat rate state pension. If you are 50 or over and you employer makes you redundant or you go on the grounds of effeciency of the service you may at the discretion of your employer be given premature retirement. Under premature retirement the employer has to pay some of the retirement benefits (on a sliding scale).

Your Pension

Your will be 1/80 of your final average salary for each year of reckonable service.

Your final average salary is the best consecutive 365 days during the final 3 years

Your Pension

to work out your pension take you final average salary, say £24,000

divide by 80 = £300
multiply by your years of reckonable service, say 35 years
£300 x 35 = £10,500
your pension is £10,500
your lump sum is 3 x your annual pension
therefore in our example above you will get 3 x £10,500
lump sum of = £31,500

Benefits on retirement for reasons of ill health (& after completing 2 years service)

Actual service	Reckonable service
2 - 5 years	service doubled (maximum enhancement to 65)
5 - 10 years	service enhanced to 20 years or by an extra 6.66 years (maximum enhancement to 65)
more than 10 years	exact service years or enhanced up to age 60, whichever gives the better result

Benefits payable on death in service

lump sum - if less than 10 years service, a lump sum of 5 years pension less pension & lump sum already received for deaths between spouses pension - 50% of members pension

Benefits on withdrawal

less than 2 years service	bought back into SERPS, plus net refund of members contributions
2 or more years service	benefits increased in deferment & payable at 60

Pension increases

Are in line with increases in retail price index (RPI)

Where to go for further information

Members can get general advice about pensions from the Warwickshire Divisional or Regional Office. For a copy of the booklet 'Your pension, a guide to the teachers pension scheme', a range of leaflets on specific pension matters and for specific individual advice contact Teachers’ Pensions Agency:

Mowden Hall
Darlington
DL3 9EE
Tel: 01325 745745
www.teacherspensions.co.uk

Teachers' Pension Scheme

The NUT strongly recommends that teachers make their pension provision through the Teachers' Pension Scheme. Full-time teachers will be in the scheme automatically, but part-time teachers will have to opt to join it.

Can teachers make their own pension arrangements?

Teachers are entitled, if they so wish, to make their own pension arrangements. However, the very firm advice of the Union is that they will be far better off with the guaranteed and defined benefits of the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

nutwarwick@ntlworld.com