New Entrants:

Options under the revised TPS from 1 January 2007

• If you are part time, you will automatically become a member of the TPS. If you do not wish to be in the TPS, you can opt out. It may be possible for you to submit an election to opt out of the scheme via My Pension Online (our secure website).
• There is no automatic tax-free lump sum at the point of retirement. If you want, you can give up £1 of annual pension in exchange for £12 of tax-free lump sum up to a maximum of 25% of the fund value.
• Survivor Benefits
  • If you are living with a partner to whom you are not married or have not registered a civil partnership, you can now nominate your partner to receive benefits on your death.
  • Entitlement does not automatically follow nomination.
  • Evidence of financial dependency/interdependency will need to be supplied by your partner on your death.
  • You can also purchase your previous service to count towards those benefits at full cost. You will have six months from the date of nomination to elect to pay these extra contributions.
• You will be able to pay by lump sum or by instalments.
• Additional Pension
  • Up to £5,000 of additional annual pension can be purchased at any point in your career. The smallest amount that can be bought at any one time is £250 of annual pension. The cost of buying additional annual pension will depend on your age at the time it is bought. This maximum increases to £5,200 with effect from 1 April 2008.
  • Within the annual pension of £5,000, you can buy personal benefits only or personal and dependants benefits. You are unable to buy dependants benefits only.
  • Past Added Years and Current Added Years provisions have been removed although existing contracts are honoured.
• From age 55, you can have access to some or all of your pension benefits and continue working, but you will have to take a reduction in pensionable salary of at least 25%. You will be able to do this on two occasions before your Normal Pension Age (NPA).
• You can decide to continue working beyond the age of 65 and not access your benefits. If you do, enhancement will be applied to those benefits accrued at age 65 when you eventually retire.
• You are able to increase your pension provision by paying more into the Teachers’ AVC Scheme or any other pension saving vehicle outside the TPS arrangement as long as, combined, they are within Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) annual andlifetime allowances.