The revisions to the TPS agreed for new entrants from 1 January 2007 include:

• Normal Pension Age (NPA) of 65.
• Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) of 55, except on grounds of ill health.
• Pension based on 1/60th of salary for each year of pensionable service with the flexible option to take up to 25% of ‘fund value’ after commutation as a tax-free lump sum by surrendering £1 of annual pension for £12 of lump sum.
• Benefits payable to nominated dependent partners (opposite and same sex).
• Spouses’, surviving civil partners’ and nominated dependent partners’ pensions paid for life.
• Ill-health retirement package – tiered approach with a higher level of benefits for total incapacity and lower level of benefits for partial incapacity.
• The better of the last year’s salary, or the re-valued (in line with the RPI) average of the best three consecutive years' salary in the last ten years of service to be used for calculating benefits at retirement.
• A facility to purchase up to £5,000 of added annual pension.
• A death grant of three times salary.
• Phased retirement arrangements. These would enable TPS members, under defined circumstances, to continue working as a teacher within the TPS while drawing down some or all of their accrued pension benefits.
• Actuarial enhancement for those who continue in work beyond NPA of 65 without accessing their pension benefits.
• Automatic membership of the scheme for new entrants whether employed in a full-time or part-time capacity. It is still possible to opt out of the scheme.