Status: Active | Role: Part-time junior school teacher

I worry that there won’t be a State Pension when I retire.

Helen is 54. She is a part-time junior school teacher and is currently contributing to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. She’s a strong advocate for the Scheme and firmly believes that it’s worth contributing to.

She’s a transition member and has benefits in the final salary and career average scheme. Her continued membership of the Scheme has made her knowledgeable about her pension, which will help her when she comes to making a retirement decision.

Helen’s concerned that there won’t be a State Pension around when she retires, so wants to pay as much into her pension as possible to ensure she’s secure later in life. She currently pays Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to boost her pension. As she’s part-time and would like to retire at 60 it’s essential for her to know how the Scheme works and how this affects her retirement income.

What can Helen do?

She can use the tools and information online to help plan her retirement and work out what will be best for her. She should also make sure she’s registered for My Pension Online (MPO) to make sure her personal details are up to date. Helen can check her Benefit Statement on MPO to see what her current pension estimate is, so she can see what benefits she’s on track to receive when she retires.

Do you sound like Helen? Here’s what you can do:

1. Register for My Pension Online (MPO) to ensure your details are up to date and to view your Benefit Statement
2. Make use of the flexibilities online calculator to see the maximum extra pension that can be purchased in each arrangement of the Scheme
3. Check out the planning retirement FAQs and watch the ‘Getting ready for retirement’ video (This link opens in a new window) to understand your options and get answers to the most common questions.

Important Note

Increasing your benefits could have consequences in relation to the Annual and Lifetime Allowances. Before you make any decision it's a good idea to seek independent financial advice on the possible tax implications of proceeding with your application.